Guy Lochhead, 15/04/12
The court paintings created in the 18th and early 19th centuries for the royal family of Jodhpur-Marwar show an aesthetic that has rarely been seen outside of India. An Islamic intricacy is fused with Hindu legend to depict traditional stories in an incredibly detailed way. These stories take place in and around palaces. These buildings and their gardens are shown with an architect’s attention to detail. There are paintings that play with perspective. Later paintings begin to take these ideas outside of the court walls and into space, showing golden religious dream worlds. Interestingly, these more introspective paintings occur around the same time as the British began taking over most of India… I saw an exhibition of these paintings at the British Museum called Garden & Cosmos. It was absolutely mind-boggling. I think a child can enjoy these pictures for their details, in the same way I think they can appreciate Brueghel and Where’s Wally. I love the early experiments with perspective, the incorporation of architectural blueprints into religious paintings, the divine weight given to a well-designed building and garden… The cosmic paintings are also awesome. There is one depicting a pre-world state, in which two gods sit in a golden nothing, gesturing that something important might happen. The story behind the mystery of this painting was very moving for me. I will include ‘Garden & Cosmos’, the book that accompanied the exhibition.