The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

Aitken, Molly Emma

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Description: The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

BOOKThe Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

Molly Emma Aitken

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00246

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21139

Winner of the Charles Rufus Morey Award

Winner of the Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Book Prize

The genre of Rajput painting flourished between the 16th and 19th centuries in the kingdoms that ruled what is now the Indian state of Rajasthan (place of rajas). Rajput paintings depicted the nobility and court spectacle as well as scenes from Krishna’s life, the Hindu epics, and court poetry. Many Rajput kingdoms developed distinct styles, though they shared common conventions. This important book surveys the overall tradition of Indian Rajput painting, while developing new methods to ask unprecedented questions about meaning.

Through a series of in-depth studies, Aitken shows how traditional formal devices served as vital components of narrative meaning, expressions of social unity, and rich sources of intellectual play. Supported by color illustrations of rare and often inaccessible paintings, Aitken’s study spans five centuries, providing a comprehensive and innovative look at the Rajasthan’s court painting traditions and their continued relevance to contemporary art.

*This eBook is available exclusively on the A&AePortal.*

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Print publication date April 2010 (in print)

Print ISBN 9780300142297

EISBN 9780300260533

Illustrations 226

Print Status in print

Publisher (in print)

WorldCat

Google Books

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List of illustrations

Tritiyanushayana-Parakiya Nayika
A mendicant bowing before a holy man
Rustam Killing the White Demon
Radha offended
The sakhi addresses Radha
Rasa Lila
Maharaja Karan Singh's dream of Lakshmi and Narayana
Patamanjari Ragini
Krishna manifests himself as the cowherd boys and calves
Kedar ragini
Month of asadh
Illustrations of the verses of Sur Das
The Death of Khan Jahan Lodi (3 February 1631)
A nobleman resembling Baba Bakhat Singh with a wife or courtesan
Radha and Krishna meeting in the kunj (bower)
Maharana Amar Singh II in prayer
Maharana Jagat Singh hunting bear
Maharao Umed Singh hunting tigers
Portrait of Jahangir
Hanuman observing Lanka at night
Hanuman observing Lanka at night, detail
Akbar and Azim Khan at Dipalpur, detail
Hulagu Khan under a canopy, detail
The ten-headed Ravana (as he is typically depicted in the manuscript)
Page of an illuminated manuscript of the Shriviravakyanumatam version of the Shrikalakacaryakatha, detail
Page from a manuscript of the sayings of Mullah Do Piaza
Borders for an album page
Two old women with a young woman
A scene of cruelty in the zanana (women's quarters), detail
A scene of cruelty in the zanana (women's quarters), detail
Shah Jahan and Prince Dara Shikoh
Timur riding with an attendant
Birth of the Virgin
Birth of the Virgin
Ruler, possibly Shah Jahan, hunting deer with trained cheetahs
Emperor Aurangzeb shooting nilgai (type of antelope), detail of bush
Ruler, possibly Shah Jahan, hunting deer with trained cheetahs, detail of Mewar rabbits
A scene of the siege of Kandahar (Deccan), detail of Mughal rabbits
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb holding audience
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb holding audience, detail of attendant
Page of an illustrated Mullah Do Piaza, detail showing bearded face
Page of an illustrated Mullah Do Piaza, detail showing sleeve and robe
Page of an illustrated Kalila va Dimna, detail showing plinth
Page from an illustrated Mullah Do Piaza, detail showing hand
Sketchbook page filled with practice eyes
Portrait of Nadir Shah
Portrait of Nadir Shah, detail
Sample of handwriting
Sample of a painting inscription
The dream of Zulaykha
Maharana with courtesan on a terrace at night
Gang rape
Gang rape
Sukhdev and King Parikshit, detail
Radha and Krishna beside a Lake at Sunset, detail
Prithvi Raj Chauhan hunting a tiger, detail
Krishna manifests himself as the cowherd boys and calves, detail
Kota eye (a); Jodphur eye (b); Kishangarh eye (c); Deogarh/Udapir eye (style of Chokha) (d)
Rana Amar Singh II with his consort in a garden pavilion, detail
Maharana Amar Singh II in prayer, detail
Equestrian portrait of Rana Amar Singh II, detail
Rana Amar Singh II seated on a terrace with courtiers, detail
Portrait of Amar Singh II with the women of his zanana, detail of Maharana Amar Singh II
Portrait of Amar Singh II with musicians, detail of Maharana Amar Singh II
Equestrian portrait of Rana Amar Singh II, detail of Jodhpur horse
Rana Amar Singh II seated on a terrace with courtiers
Maharana Ari Singh II in darbar
Shah Jahan holding a spinel and a long Deccan sword
Portrait possibly of Mota Raja, Udai Singh of Marwar
Raja Jagat Singh of Kota
Maharaja Jai Singh I of Amber with Maharaja Gaj Singh of Marwar
Portion of a genealogical scroll
Maharana Raj Singh II riding an elephant, detail
Maharana Jagat Singh Hawks for Cranes
The Emperor Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne
Maharana Pratap Singh
Attendants standing at a jharoka window
Maharana Amar Singh II of Mewar riding in procession with Maharaja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur and Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber on the occasion of the 1708 alliance
Maharaja Prithvi Singh
Maharaja Man Singh
Maharao Kishore Singh watches Radha, Krishna, and the gopis, detail of Maharao Kishore Singh
Maharana Bhim Singh and Retinue Embark on a Hunt
Equestrian portrait of Rana Amar Singh II
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh
Equestrian portrait of Maharao Chattar Sal of Kota, detail
Maharana Ari Singh II in durbar, detail of tiles
Maharana Ari Singh II in durbar, detail of Bagta in darbar
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
The death of Majnun
Layla Visits Majnun in the Wilderness
Majnun visited by Layla, detail showing a cropped camel
Salim tells Majnun of his father's death
Majnun visited by his mother and Salim
Majnun in the desert
Barbad the minstrel approaching Khusraw
Plato (Aflatun) playing music to the animals
Majnun is Visited in the Wilderness by His Father, detail
Majnun in the wilderness
Majnun in the wilderness
Layla and Majnun in the wilderness with animals
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun (the Kumar Miskin)
Layla and Majnun (the Bodleian Miskin)
The World of Animals
Kumar Miskin, detail of man with pot
Bodleian Miskin, detail of man with pot
Layla and Majnun
Majnun and the old man with Layla in the margins
Layla and Majnun
Layla visiting Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla visiting Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Ibrahim Adham of Balkh
The Attractions of Music
Devgandhar ragini
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun, and Khusrau and Shirin
Layla and Majnun, and Khusrau and Shirin, detail
The qualities of the dervish
A young man seated on a terrace smoking a water pipe
Three peris (Perisan fairies) on a composite elephant with interstitial scenes
Three peris (Persian fairies) on a composite elephant with interstitial scenes, detail
Layla and Majnun, detail
Ibrahim Adham of Balkh, detail
Layla and Majnun, detail
Women hunt a multitude of animals
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun (the Kumar Miskin), detail
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun, detail
Mir Muizzu'l Mulk and Bahadur Khan, detail
Layla and Majnun (the Kumar Miskin), detail
Layla and Majnun, detail
Layla and Majnun, detail
Victory Tower (Jaya Sthambha)
Layla and Majnun, detail
Layla and Majnun (the Kumar Miskin), detail
Layla and Majnun, detail
Swooning at the Sight of the Beauteous Kamakandala
Maharana Bhim Singh and His Sons in the Surya Mahal
Maharana Bhim Singh and Retinue Embark on a Hunt, detail
A court beauty
Maharana Bhim Singh with a rani (queen) or pasawan (high-ranking mistress)
Maharana Bhim Singh with a rani or pasawan
Maharana Bhim Singh with a hawk
Maharana Bhim Singh of Udaipur Dresses for the Teej (Swing) Festival
Maharana Bhim Singh looking in a mirror while being bathed
Maharana Bhim Singh intoxicated
Rana Amar Singh II with his consort in a garden pavilion
Rawat Gokul Das and Maharana Bhim Singh worshipping Shri Girdhariji, detail
Maharana Bhim Singh with Asuaji Santidas
Rawat Ragho Das riding
Women at a Shiva shrine
Krishna uses a ruse to meet his beloved
Krishna Disguised as a Woman Approaches Radha
Kunvar Ragho Das of Devgarh and his five sons worshipping Shri Girdhariji, a form of Krishna
Krishna uses a ruse to meet his beloved, detail
Kunvar Ragho Das of Devgarh and his five sons worshipping Shri Girdhariji, a form of Krishna, detail
Hara Higul and Navab Ankhar Khan in battle
Preparatory drawing for Hara Higul and Navab Ankhar Khan in battle
Maharao Bhim Singh of Kotah Killing Khilich Khan in 1720
Maharana Bhim Singh Returns from the Hunt
Radha imitating Krishna
Scene of a Shravan ragini, detail
Radha and Krishna meeting in the kunj (bower), detail of Kota tree growing over a wall
Elephant in mast (rut)
A Woman Worshipping the Rising Sun (Surya Puja)
Rao Surjan Singh of Bundi hunting
Surajmalji, son of Rao Narayanadasa
Madhava Swooning before Kamakandala
Prithvi Raj Chauhan
Maharana Pratap Singh
Prithvi Raj Chauhan hunting a tiger, detail
Hunter, possibly Prithvi Raj Chauhan
Anthology of the early life of Krishna
Krishna Disguised as a Woman Approaches Radha, detail of Kota skyline and jungle canopy
Krishna spies Radha bathing, detail of Chokha skyline and jungle canopy
Radha and Krishna beside a Lake at Sunset, detail of Kota sunset
Madhavanala faints when he sees Kamakandala, detail of Chokha sunset
Hour of cowdust
Hour of cowdust
Krishna
Krishna milking a cow, detail of shepherd's cloak and staff
Maharana Bhim Singh with a rani or pasawan, detail of sword and shield
The rulers of Kota and Mewar paying their devotions to Shri Nathji
Maharana Jawan Singh of Mewar worshipping an icon
Maharana Bhim Singh with his wife or a courtesan
Krishna embraces Radha
Nayika
Prince with his wife or courtesan
Krishna spies Radha bathing
Madhavanala faints when he sees Kamakandala
Krishna with Gopis on a Riverbank
Maharao Kishore Singh watches Radha, Krishna, and the gopis
Maharao Kishore Singh watches Radha, Krishna, and the gopis, detail of Krishna
Maharao Kishore Singh watches Radha, Krishna, and the gopis, detail of Maharao Kishore Singh
The Hindu deity Krishna
Krishna embraces Radha, detail
Krishna and Radha, detail of Krishna
Shukadeva
Sukhdev and King Parikshit
Shukadeva
Shukadeva
Radha churns butter as she watches Krishna milk a cow
Maharana Pratap Singh
Maharana Pratap Singh
A court beauty, detail of hair and waist
Maharana Bhim Singh hunting, detail of trees
Maharana Bhim Singh hawking, detail of trees
Layla and Majnun, detail of trees
Madhavanala faints when he sees Kamakandala, detail of skirt
Maharana Bhim Singh with a rani or pasawan, detail of skirt
Swooning at the Sight of the Beauteous Kamakandala, detail of skirt
A court beauty, detail of skirt
Rao Madho Singh worshipping Krishna, detail
Radha and Krishna embracing, detail
Madhavanala faints at the sight of Kamakandala

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Contents

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

Contents

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21140

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Acknowledgments

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~My thanks, first of all, to the City College of New York and Dean Fred Reynolds, Cynthia Polsky, and the Millard Meiss Publication Fund of the College Art Association for their financial support of this project. The book is dedicated to Bannu ji, my first teacher in India. I would also like to remember his wife, Deepa, one of the warmest and most generous women I...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21141

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Introduction: The Intelligence of Tradition

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

Radha was unable to meet Krishna for their tryst, and the mango blossoms in his ears and pollen on his cheeks tell her he has been there all night waiting for her (fig. Int.1). She is sad. As Krishna comes toward her, he...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.1-9

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00246.001

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21142

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingHindu gods in artMoghal (South Asian people)Painting, Southeast AsianKings and rulers--Art patronage

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1. Structures of Desire: An Introduction to the Court Paintings of Rajasthan

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~The illustrations to the circa 1625 Rasamanjari from the royal court at Mewar are brilliant with contrasting colors (see fig. Int.1). Red predominates, forms are prominently outlined, and compositions are compartmentalized, as if built from discrete units. Simple, bold, decorative patterns represent trees and flowers, and the...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.10-55

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21143

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingCourts and courtiers in artPainting, Southeast AsianKings and rulers in artMoghal (South Asian people)Mewar painting

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2. Interpreting Style

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~In the last years of the seventeenth century, an unnamed painter drew his single-hair brush in one unwavering line from the top of the young maharana Amar Singh II’s head to the nape of his neck, tracing a long, gently arching nose, generous lips, and a slight chin. His drawing is part preparatory sketch, part finished portrait...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.56-109

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21144

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingCourts and courtiers in artPainting, Southeast AsianKings and rulers in artImitation in artMewar painting

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3. The Formalities: Form and Function in Mewar Portraiture

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~Meanings can be loosely associated with forms or they can be exact and concrete, and the lowest level of significance acquired in the daily life of a form often rises to become overt in a new context and even emblematic in its force. In the previous chapter, for instance, we saw how the relationships that sustained styles invested them with meaning and how these...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.110-153

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00246.002

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21145

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingCourts and courtiers in artMewar paintingPainting, Southeast AsianMen--PortraitsCultural diplomacy

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4. Repetition and Response: The Case of Layla and Majnun

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~An early nineteenth-century Mewar painting pictures the Arab lovers Layla and Majnun (fig. 4.1). The painting’s soft voluptuous forms and shadowy washes are typical of the Mewar artist Chokha, whom scholars agree to be its author.Chokha’s style...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.154-209

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00246.003

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21146

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingPainting, Southeast AsianPainting, Mogul EmpireEpic poetry, Persian

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5. Chokha’s Shringara (Amorous) Style: The Painter as Interpreter of His Tradition

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~In the guise of a Brahmin priest, the young hero Madhavanala collapses, overwhelmed by the heroine Kamakandala’s extraordinary beauty, and her attendants hasten to revive him (fig. 5.1). The scene engages the shringara (erotic or amorous) rasa (taste...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.210-285

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00246.004

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21147

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingCourts and courtiers in artKings and rulers in artPainting, Southeast AsianHindu gods in art

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Conclusion: The Lives of Rajput Pictorial Forms from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century

Molly Emma Aitken

The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting

~The art historian Henri Focillon wrote: “We are always tempted to read into form a meaning other than its own” yet, “form has a significance and form is open to interpretation.... As old meanings are broken down and obliterated, new meanings attach themselves to...

Author

Molly Emma Aitken

PublisherYale University Press

Related print edition pages: pp.286-297

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00246.005

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21148

Chapter subject tags:Rajput paintingPainting, Southeast AsianCourts and courtiers

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