Kripal: The Art of Kripal Singh Shekhawat

During his time as student in Santiniketan his teacher Benode Behari asked him which flowering plant he could draw through imagination rather than observation. Kripal Singh was unable to answer this question but realised immediately the lesson to be learnt regarding perception and sensitivity through this simple query. He recalls this moment as the turning point—when he started becoming an independent artist and not a mere copyist.

His years as a student in Japan further developed his interest in creating his own visual language through a study of traditional techniques and materials. One of the classical formats that Kripal Singh studied was the late twelfth century illustrated scroll attributed to Toba Sōjō Kakuyū. Kakuyū’s expert draughtsmanship is evident in the caricatures of birds and animals that he created using fluid strokes of sumi ink. Practicing with this traditional ink and handmade paper honed Kripal Singh’s mastery of natural materials and brushwork, seen later in his frescoes and pottery.

Kripal Singh’s teachers in Japan, were some of the most renowned nihonga artists of their time. Kawabata Ryūshi was one such teacher who was known to challenge traditions. A famous Ryūshi work was a decorative pattern composed of fish—a pair of two paneled screens painted in colour on silk. The carp was a favourite subject for delineation by Japanese style artists but Ryushi’s skill at painting carp caught the life and movement of the fish. Kripal Singh’s later pottery works of the 1980s used the carp as a significant motif in decorative panels. 

During his time as student in Santiniketan his teacher Benode Behari asked him which flowering plant he could draw through imagination rather than observation. Kripal Singh was unable to answer this question but realised immediately the lesson to be learnt regarding perception and sensitivity through this simple query. He recalls this moment as the turning point—when he started becoming an independent artist and not a mere copyist.

His years as a student in Japan further developed his interest in creating his own visual language through a study of traditional techniques and materials. One of the classical formats that Kripal Singh studied was the late twelfth century illustrated scroll attributed to Toba Sōjō Kakuyū. Kakuyū’s expert draughtsmanship is evident in the caricatures of birds and animals that he created using fluid strokes of sumi ink. Practicing with this traditional ink and handmade paper honed Kripal Singh’s mastery of natural materials and brushwork, seen later in his frescoes and pottery.

Kripal Singh’s teachers in Japan, were some of the most renowned nihonga artists of their time. Kawabata Ryūshi was one such teacher who was known to challenge traditions. A famous Ryūshi work was a decorative pattern composed of fish—a pair of two paneled screens painted in colour on silk. The carp was a favourite subject for delineation by Japanese style artists but Ryushi’s skill at painting carp caught the life and movement of the fish. Kripal Singh’s later pottery works of the 1980s used the carp as a significant motif in decorative panels. 

During his time as student in Santiniketan his teacher Benode Behari asked him which flowering plant he could draw through imagination rather than observation. Kripal Singh was unable to answer this question but realised immediately the lesson to be learnt regarding perception and sensitivity through this simple query. He recalls this moment as the turning point—when he started becoming an independent artist and not a mere copyist.

His years as a student in Japan further developed his interest in creating his own visual language through a study of traditional techniques and materials. One of the classical formats that Kripal Singh studied was the late twelfth century illustrated scroll attributed to Toba Sōjō Kakuyū. Kakuyū’s expert draughtsmanship is evident in the caricatures of birds and animals that he created using fluid strokes of sumi ink. Practicing with this traditional ink and handmade paper honed Kripal Singh’s mastery of natural materials and brushwork, seen later in his frescoes and pottery.

Kripal Singh’s teachers in Japan, were some of the most renowned nihonga artists of their time. Kawabata Ryūshi was one such teacher who was known to challenge traditions. A famous Ryūshi work was a decorative pattern composed of fish—a pair of two paneled screens painted in colour on silk. The carp was a favourite subject for delineation by Japanese style artists but Ryushi’s skill at painting carp caught the life and movement of the fish. Kripal Singh’s later pottery works of the 1980s used the carp as a significant motif in decorative panels. 

Kripal Singh learnt the blue pottery process from Nathibai of Jaipur, probably the only woman artisan who was an apprentice of the last family that traditionally made blue pottery in Jaipur. He had also spent a few months with potters Gurcharan Singh and Abdullah Mussalman at New Delhi, learning Abdullah's glazing techniques. Kripal Singh combined his knowledge of natural painting pigments and techniques with his learnings from his time at Delhi Blue Pottery to revive Jaipur’s pottery tradition.

Many artisans joined Kripal Singh in his effort to revive blue pottery— first at Shilp Kala Mandir and then at the pottery studio he established at his home at Bani Park. Kripal Singh was also instrumental in showcasing the craft abroad, and blue pottery began to be synonymous with Jaipur. The technique was brought into secondary schools such as the Maharani Gayatri Devi School. In the early 1980s, a small village called Neota was adopted by the Birlas and training centres were set up to teach blue pottery to the local villagers with Kripal Singh’s guidance. 

Though his was not the first attempt to revive blue pottery, Kripal Singh made a significant contribution in modernising the practice, balancing the contemporary with the traditional, thereby reestablishing an entire tradition. His contribution to the technical and creative aspects of blue pottery, ranged from improvements of the updraught kiln, to the perseverance of tests with underglaze pigments, and the precision of design and pattern development.

Kripal Singh learnt the blue pottery process from Nathibai of Jaipur, probably the only woman artisan who was an apprentice of the last family that traditionally made blue pottery in Jaipur. He had also spent a few months with potters Gurcharan Singh and Abdullah Mussalman at New Delhi, learning Abdullah's glazing techniques. Kripal Singh combined his knowledge of natural painting pigments and techniques with his learnings from his time at Delhi Blue Pottery to revive Jaipur’s pottery tradition.

Many artisans joined Kripal Singh in his effort to revive blue pottery— first at Shilp Kala Mandir and then at the pottery studio he established at his home at Bani Park. Kripal Singh was also instrumental in showcasing the craft abroad, and blue pottery began to be synonymous with Jaipur. The technique was brought into secondary schools such as the Maharani Gayatri Devi School. In the early 1980s, a small village called Neota was adopted by the Birlas and training centres were set up to teach blue pottery to the local villagers with Kripal Singh’s guidance. 

Though his was not the first attempt to revive blue pottery, Kripal Singh made a significant contribution in modernising the practice, balancing the contemporary with the traditional, thereby reestablishing an entire tradition. His contribution to the technical and creative aspects of blue pottery, ranged from improvements of the updraught kiln, to the perseverance of tests with underglaze pigments, and the precision of design and pattern development.

Kripal Singh learnt the blue pottery process from Nathibai of Jaipur, probably the only woman artisan who was an apprentice of the last family that traditionally made blue pottery in Jaipur. He had also spent a few months with potters Gurcharan Singh and Abdullah Mussalman at New Delhi, learning Abdullah's glazing techniques. Kripal Singh combined his knowledge of natural painting pigments and techniques with his learnings from his time at Delhi Blue Pottery to revive Jaipur’s pottery tradition.

Many artisans joined Kripal Singh in his effort to revive blue pottery— first at Shilp Kala Mandir and then at the pottery studio he established at his home at Bani Park. Kripal Singh was also instrumental in showcasing the craft abroad, and blue pottery began to be synonymous with Jaipur. The technique was brought into secondary schools such as the Maharani Gayatri Devi School. In the early 1980s, a small village called Neota was adopted by the Birlas and training centres were set up to teach blue pottery to the local villagers with Kripal Singh’s guidance. 

Though his was not the first attempt to revive blue pottery, Kripal Singh made a significant contribution in modernising the practice, balancing the contemporary with the traditional, thereby reestablishing an entire tradition. His contribution to the technical and creative aspects of blue pottery, ranged from improvements of the updraught kiln, to the perseverance of tests with underglaze pigments, and the precision of design and pattern development.