💗 Lowland Painting Arts. 💗

 🧑‍🎨Lowland paintings of the Kandy period.🧑‍🎨

During the period of the Mahanuwara kingdoms, this art spread in the lowland areas of the island, specially in the southern and western provinces. As a result of the enthusiasm of Sangharaja Thero for his students to establish and maintain Buddhist temples in the lowlands, this art of painting spread to the lowlands. This art that spread in the pahatara areas has elements similar to the paintings of the uplands. But there are also notable differences.

That is, although the style used, the techniques followed are almost the same, there are significant differences in the shape of the human figures, clothes, background colours, designs, background decorations and etc. In this way, some of the lowland temples where the tradition of painting in Kandy spread are mentioned below.💁

• Thelwaththa Rathpath Rajamaha Wiharaya

• Karagampitiya Subhodaramaya

• Dodanduwa Sailabimbaramaya

• Ambalangoda Sunandaramaya

• Mulkirigala Rajamaha Wiharaya

• Kelaniya Rajamaha Wiharaya

These are unique in lowland.

Also, lowland paintings have been widely inspired by the way of life of the people who lived in the coastal region of Sri Lanka in the 18th and 19th centuries. It also appears that they were caught in the flow of the cultural traditions of the foreigners. In other words, portuguese, Dutch and English cultural characteristics are clearly seen in the clothes, furniture and etc, in these paintings. However, the painting tradition of the lowland is like a precious art jewel for us, just like a painting tradition of the upland.