Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh brought with two fresco painters when he founded the city of Jaipur. These artists were skilled in the aarish technique of creating frescos. This technique uses a damp surface for painting. It involves coating the wall with layers of plaster one after the other
Aarish is an indigenous practice that uses lime plaster to create a smooth marble-like finish. The plaster is prepared and stored in earthen pots over a period of two years in a dark room to take out the undesired residue helping in the purification of the putty. The plaster is applied in layers with the first layer being called kada. The plaster is built on successively. The first layer is made of 1/4th of kali lime and 3/4th of gravels or brick dust. The second layer is made of 1/4th lime and3/4th of marble dust and the final layer made of filtered lime dust mixed with chachch (sour buttermilk) and gur (jaggery). This last layer is called aarish and is sieved through a muslin cloth and applied using a brush.
When this layer is wet a design is drawn and the colours are mixed with lime water. Traditionally, lead pigments and grounds from stones were used to create vibrant colours that adorned the interiors of Havelis. However, many of these colours tend to oxidize and blacken which lead to a shift to synthetic material by the 20th century. After drying the surface is rubbed with agate to make the colours stay.
Besides the various mythological themes, wall paintings reflected the social and cultural life of the contemporary era. Jaipur wall paintings spanned a wide range of subjects. Though a lot of Mughal influence was seen on then, the selection of the subject was always inspired by Hindu lyrics, literature, religion, mythology and some Sanskrit works.
Many of these frescos can be seen in the many Havelis in the Shekhawati region popularly, as also the older Havelis in the walled city of Jaipur.