The Royal Canvas

Categorised into three major sections — “Early Rajput and Rajasthan”, “early Pahari” (Punjab Hills), and “later Pahari” — the display projects the distinct stylistic expressions under the patronage of Rajput rulers in different principalities and periods. “The Rajput style of the early 16th century in Rajasthan was transformed by contact with the Mughal school, which was developing concurrently. While early Rajput paintings favoured a limited colour range, shallow space, and a dynamic, action-filled narrative style, the Mughal school developed extremely refined brushwork, fine detail, blended colours and a different repertoire of subjects. Together these traditions met and evolved with mutual artistic exchanges giving rise to further wonderful styles,” says curator Navina Haidar.

Browsing through the numerous works from the Kronos Collection, one that belongs to Kossak’s family, Haidar notes that as a category Rajput painting is itself very diverse, encompassing the “Early Rajput” style to the later schools of Bikaner, Bundi, Kishangarh, Kota, and Mewar; as well as many of the small courts of the Punjab Hills: Bahu, Bahsoli, Bislalpur, Chamba, Guler, Kangra, Mandi, Mankot, and Nurpur. “The term ‘Rajput paintings’ refers to a number of schools of painting in Rajasthan and the Punjab hills, where under the patronage of largely Rajput rulers, court arts flourished from the 16th to the early 20th centuries,” adds Haidar.

So the Mughal miniatures might be considered more celebrated, but the broad stylistic elements in each region had their own strong characteristics. The Rajput school, for instance, were defined by opaque watercolours and ink on paper, heightened with gold and silver. Created mainly between the 16th and the early 19th century for the royal courts of Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills, the works were acquired by Kossak from the ’70s onwards. The display includes a variety of mythological works including Krishna Swallows the Forest Fire (1690–1730), attributed to the “Master” at the Court of Mankot, depicting an episode from the Bhagavata Purana; and Blindman’s Buff: The Demon Pralambha Carries Balarama on His Shoulder, an illustrated folio from the dispersed “Isarda” Bhagavata Purana (1560–65). Then there are works that represent the surroundings: A Nobleman and His Devoted Wife Seated in the Forest; and Two Female Musicians Attend, an illustrated folio probably from an unidentified nayaka-nayika (hero-heroine) series from the kingdom of Basohli (1685). Leading “master” of the Bikaner school in the second half of the 17th century and director of the atelier under Maharaja Anup Singh, Ruknuddin painted Ladies on the Terrace, in sombre colours. “These are suffused with the powerful imagery of the myths of the past,” notes Haidar.