An Investigative Study on the Identity Characteristics of the Nilagama Generation of Painters: Based on the Neelagiri Rajamahavihara Painting Depicting Buddhist Practices

Abstract

In the study of Sri Lankan art history, information on the various painting traditions as well as the generations of painters who preserved them, are found from the sources of literature and the content of folklore. Not only the contemporary culture but also the design traditions and traditions inherent to the generations of painters are engaged in paintings can be investigated in relation to this. The Nilagama generation of Painters live in the Nilagama Village of the Galewela Divisional Secretariat of the Central Province is special among the Sri Lankan generations of painting. Legend says that the Nilagama tradition has contributed in creating of Sigiri art. The paintings in the Nilagama Neelagiri temple which is of archaeological importance were painted by this generation. The paintings of the Neelagiri Raja Maha Viharaya, which reveal the special features of the traditional social information and the painting tradition, were painted by Jeevan Naide, the fourth generation of Nilagama Painters. Suvisi commentary (Suvisi Vivarana) on the various stages of the Buddha’s character on the left side of the main entrance and throughout the entire wall, and the seven weeks (Sath Sathiya) of the enlightenment of Buddha on the right wall are spectacularly depicted. The primary objective is to study the techniques used in the painting of the Nilagama Generation of Painters based on the paintings of the Neelagiri temple. The research problem is to investigate how the Nilagama painting tradition has created an identity among the generations of Sri Lankan painters in the paintings of the events related to Buddha. Subject to the qualitative research methodology, this research was conducted using a review of literature and field research. This research attempted to socialise the creative identity of the declining Nilagama Generation of Painters among the generations of Sri Lankan painters and to open more ways of study about it.