Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur at British Museum on artrepublic.com
Exhibition running from May 28 2009
until Aug 23 2009
Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur is a rare opportunity to view a unique type of Indian royal court painting ranging in date from the 17th-19th centuries. The exhibition will feature an exceptional loan from India and will be made up of 54 paintings from the royal collection at the Mehrangarh Museum Trust in Jodhpur, which was set up by the current maharaja, Gaj Singh II, in 1972. Remarkably, none of these paintings has ever previously been seen in Europe. Garden and Cosmos will explore the two distinct styles of painting which flourished over the period represented in the exhibition – on the one hand the ornate style depicting the temporal pleasures of courtly life and the verdant forests where scenes from the epics took place (‘Garden’) and, on the other, the metaphysical paintings concerned with philosophical speculation and the origin of the universe (‘Cosmos’). The 54 large format works on loan from the Mehrangarh Museum Trust are specific to the Jodhpur region and are not found elsewhere in Rajasthan. The paintings were created for the personal pleasure of the maharajas who ruled over this part of north-western India. As such, they represent the varying aesthetic tastes and differing political and spiritual views of three generations at the Jodhpur court. The first part of the exhibition centres on the paintings created for Bakhat Singh (1725-1751), depicting the pleasures of the royal court – the prince is shown in his fort-palace at Nagaur with its lush gardens surrounded by flowering forest; this section also includes vibrant illustrations of the great Indian epics, especially of the Ramayana. In this category the two paintings which show the crashing monsoon storms and the crossing to Lanka are especially thrilling. The second part of the exhibition focuses on the paintings which originated during the long reign of Maharaja Man Singh (1803–1843), Bakhat Singh’s great-grandson. A fervent devotee of the Nath yogis, a religious sect, he commissioned more than 1,000 paintings to illustrate metaphysical concepts – and also to establish the political legitimacy of this esoteric group. In their subject matter, the paintings turn away from the glowing exterior world of court life and instead address the interior world of philosophical speculation and the origin of the universe. The new subject matter naturally demanded new artistic approaches. In painting after painting, the artists of this era demonstrate incredible versatility in their attempts to represent Hindu concepts and texts visually. OPENING HOURS: Daily: 10.00 – 17.30 Image Credits: Death of Vali; Rama and Lakshmana Wait Out the Monsoon. From the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (1532-1623). Jodhpur, c. 1775. Copyright Mehrangarh Museum Trust. The Mandala of Shiva. From the Shiva Rahasya. Jodhpur, 1827. Copyright Mehrangarh Museum Trust Maharaja Bakhat Singh Rejoices during Holi. Attributed here to "Artist 3". Nagaur, c. 1748-50. Copyright Mehrangarh Museum Trust  |
