Newar Cultural Life in the Paintings of Third- and Fourth-Generation Chitrakar Artists: An Ethnographic Art Study

Abstract

This paper examines the paintings of third- and fourth-generation Chitrakar artists of the
Kathmandu Valley from an ethnographic art perspective. The Chitrakars, the hereditary
painter caste of the Newar community, have long used painting not only as an aesthetic
medium but also as a visual archive of Newar festivals, rituals, occupations, architecture,
and everyday life. This study analyses selected works by ten artists: Amar Chitrakar,
Manohar Man Pun, Gyan Bahadur Chitrakar, Dil Bahadur Chitrakar, and Surya Bahadur
Chitrakar from the third generation; and Madan Chitrakar, Sarada Chitrakar, Prem Man
Chitrakar, Lok Chitrakar, and Ramesh Chitrakar from the fourth generation. Employing a
qualitative methodology that combines visual analysis with ethnographic interpretation, the
paper explores how artistic representation functions as cultural documentation. The findings
demonstrate that both generations meticulously recorded Newar social and ritual life,
while their artistic practices evolved from realist representation toward diverse modernist
expressions. The paper concludes that Chitrakar paintings constitute an important repository
of cultural knowledge, collective memory, and community identity, particularly at a time when
the traditional hereditary practice of Newar painting is in decline. This study contributes
to Nepali art history by highlighting the enduring ethnographic and cultural significance of
Newar visual heritage.