Western aesthetic styles in the dravidian visual art forms: a study with Nallur Kailayanathar Pillaiyar Temple in Jaffna

Abstract

Several ancient Hindu temples with buildings, sculptures, and paintings in Dravidian Art Style is standing in the Jaffna Peninsula as art repositories. The ancient forms of several of the building structures of Hindu Temples had been destroyed due to several reasons such as colonial rule, natural disasters, and war environment. It is notable that, current structures of the Hindu temples are mostly found to be renovated structures. It could be observed here that during the periods when Sri Lanka was under the colonial rule of Portuguese, Dutch, and the English, Western Art Forms had been absorbed into the traditional visual art forms of Hindu Temples. These could be identified in the visual Art forms expressed in the Dome, columns, and wall paintings of Nallur Kailayanathar Pillaiyar Temple. The main objective of this study is to identify the influences of Western Art forms in the Dravidian Art forms and bring them out through visual Art forms. This study is undertaken through a historical approach, descriptive method, comparison method, observations, and interviews. The dome structure found on top of the main The Sanctorum of this Temple is a structure built in accordance with the Hindu scripture. The matter of how sculptures with Western Cultural backgrounds came to be installed on the dome of this Temple, constructed in Dravidian tradition is analyzed here. The construction of columns of the Artha Mandapam of the Nallur Kailayanathar Pillaiyar Temple in Pallavar architectural style reveals Dravidian Art style. However, all the columns that had been constructed in the Maha Mandapam are found to be constructed with designs of the western style? Particularly, columns of the Roman era (Tuscan pillars) could be identified here. Epical stories had been depicted as wall paintings on the Northern and western walls of the Nallur Kailayanathar Pillaiyar Temple. The concept, body expression, costume, and ornaments of the paintings found here exclusively reflect Hindu religion, While, the background scenes, handling of colors, three-dimensional constructions, figure reliefs, and color flow had been expressed to reveal western style. A diversity comprising of both the Art Styles of traditional customs prevailing from ancient times and Western-style could be marked, compared, and identified through the dome, columns, and wall paintings found here. This study is undertaken by analyzing through Visual Arts, several changes such as the Dravidian traditional customs being broken and new Art forms being absorbed due to reasons of effects of the rule of foreigners, adopting the western aesthetic styles even after Sri Lanka becoming Independent.