Tribal paintings have forever been a favourite. Not just the art lovers but the ordinary art visitors have cherished these art forms. But, unfortunately, many tribal paintings lie in oblivion. Gond paintings are one such tribal paintings which could never see limelight. Jabalpur Smart City Ltd is bringing Gond paintings and its tribal painters to your midst from 23 – 26 November at Culture Street through a Workshop on Gond Paintings. The four-day workshop will include sale of paintings made by tribal artists on the spot during the workshop.
At first instance, Gond paintings could seem to bear stark resemblance with some folk paintings like Madhubani or Mithila, a folk art practiced in Madhubani, a town in the eastern Indian city of Bihar. Both depict nature and Gods and Goddesses of their respective regions. However, there is a detailed difference between the two. It’s the use of dots. A closer look would reveal that in Gond paintings figures are shaped using dots.
Gond artists use natural colours like turmeric for yellow, leaves for green, geru for orange-brown etc to fill the figures with striking colours. Gum and phitkari (potash alum) are used as binding agents. At present, Gond artists are concentrated in the Patangarh Mal village in Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh.

Gond paintings have existed through the ages but have only found selective mention on a larger platform. At first glance, the paintings appear to bear striking resemblance with some other folk paintings like Madhubani paintings. But a closer look reveals a detailed difference in the two: the use of dots in Gond paintings. Figures are shaped using dots. This is unique to Gond paintings. Besides, Gond artists use natural colours like turmeric for yellow, leaves for green, geru for orange-brown etc to fill the figures with striking colours. Gum and phitkari (potash alum) are used as binding agents.
At present, Gond artists are concentrated in the Patangarh Mal village in Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh.