ART
Inspired by India
S. RANGARAJAN
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Two recent exhibitions in Washington D.C., both inspired by medieval Indian art, gave viewers an insight into the minds of the royal patrons.
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Photo: Mehrangarh Museum Trust
Strikingly innovative: “Jallandharnath and Princess Padmini Fly over King Padam’s Palace”; folio 19 from the Suraj Prakash.
Muraqqa: Imperial Mughal Albums” and “Garden And Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur” were not only visual delights, but also provide an insight into the mind-set of the two royal houses: the Mughal kingdom under Jehangir (1605-27) and Shah Jahan (1627-58) and the Rajput-Rathore dynasty in Marwar-Jodhpur, who were great patrons of art in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Persian word Muraqqa meant “patched” or “patched garment”, similar to those worn by Islamic mystics (sufis). The word Muraqqa came to be applied to Mughal albums due to their patchwork construction with each album folio consisting of numerous pieces of paper pasted together to form a single continuous sheet. Typically an image was on one side of a folio and a panel of calligraphy on the other side and both were surrounded by decorated borders.
Consisting of 82 paintings from six albums, Muraqqa was a flowing tapestry done in opaque water colour, gold and ink on paper that projected portrays of emperors and courtiers, in royal robes and lavish ornaments, the imperial family in relaxed private settings, images of Islamic mystics juxtaposed with Western religious figures.
The six albums gave glimpses into the gradual and steady transformation and fusion of Muraqqa, with its origins in the distant Timurid and Persian settings, into the new milieu of 16th and 17th century medieval India .
Cosmopolitan atmosphere
The folios in Salim Album reveal the emergence of a cosmopolitan court atmosphere and the pages devoted to Hindu religious, mythological and folklore themes and Christian subjects highlighted the religious curiosity that prevailed during the period of Jehangir.
While “Muraqqa” depicted the extent of wealth and reach of the Mughals in the Indo-Gangetic plains, “Garden and Cosmos” projected the sensibilities of the court painters of the desert kingdom of Marwar-Jodhpur . The recurring theme of 18th century paintings was the garden, an idyllic landscape enjoyed by rulers and gods alike. The tent canopy that recreated the garden scenes and the floral patterns that the maharajas enjoyed when they made camp in remote areas of the desert while on military campaigns or religious pilgrimages reflected the Marwar aesthetic of the garden.
Divided into three segments of “Garden For Royal Pleasure”, “Garden For Divine Play” and “Kingdom And Cosmos”, the royal paintings of Jodhpur traced the perceptions of the atelier of the Rathore dynasty during the reigns of Maharaja Bakhat (1725-51), Maharaja Vijay Singh (1752-93) and Maharaja Man Singh, who ascended the throne in 1803.
The tertiary section of “Kingdom and Cosmos” that came about during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh is a royal salute to the ruler’s miraculous recovery that was caused by the intensity of the practice of hatha yoga (mahasiddha). Visionary subjects about the origins of the cosmos, shimmering chakras (energy centres), mandalas (cosmic maps) and asanas (yoga postures) are the themes of paintings in this group treated with great intensity.
Strikingly innovative in their subject-matter, large-scale, and styles, more than 50 of the works represented in “Garden and Cosmos” have been lent by his Highness Gaj Singh II from the Mehrangargh Museum Trust. After the exhibitions in the U.S. “Garden and Cosmos” has opened its presentation in the British Museum, London from May 28 to August 23, 2009. It is scheduled to begin its show at the National Museum, New Delhi from October to December of 2009.
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