AKC Rajput Painting
AKC Rajput Painting
AKC Rajput Painting
Author(s): A. K. C.
Source: Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 96 (Aug., 1918), pp. 49-62
Published by: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4169664
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 49
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RAJPUT PAINTING
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XVI, 50 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 51
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XVI, 52 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
pictures. Broadly speaking, the feeding Raga a is peacock: the sky is heavily overcast.
equivalent
to the musical mode of European According
andtoparticularly
the poem superscribed a beautiful
of old Greek and ecclesiastical terminology, woman has come from the palace and stands in
inas-
much as it represents a selection theof garden:
not"Heavy
more black
thanclouds are gathering
seven notes, ranging over the scale and never auspiciously, the sweet, sweet rumbling of thunder
departed from in any one song or composition; is heard, and flashes of lightning light up the
but the Raga is actually somewhat further deter- sky. . . . Eagerly she waits for her beloved, with
mined by characteristic progressions, and is more her body like an open flower, and because she
accurately translated by " melody-mould." The thinks of her lord's embrace there is joy in her
Ragini is merely an abridgment or modification of heart."
a Raga. The Ragmala usually describes six The second, by the same hand and from the
Ragas, each with five Raginis. It may be added same series, is Ragini Vibhasa (" Bnrlliance" or
that the Ragas and Raginis are personified as " Splendor"), and represents Kamadeva (the Indian
musical angels with family relationships, and these Eros) fitting an arrow to his bow, which he aims
at his wife Rati, the Indian Psyche, who is sleeping
musical genii are implicitly, if not explicitly, invoked
by the artist at every performance. on the palace terrace. The theme is the "Return
The most important fact to be observed in of Love " with the coming of the rains. According
studying the Ragmala pictures is that, precisely to as the Hindi poem superscribed, "The monsoon
the old Greek mode was felt to possess a charac- clouds have brought in desire, and their glory has
teristic and definite ethos, so from the Indian pointfilled the eye. Love has set an arrow to his bow,
of view the Raga is expressed and recognized as and Delight is considering the battle in her heart.
clearly in and by its mood as by the strictly musical . . . Hearing all the tale unfolded by Love, she
definition. Each Raga and Ragini is associated gazed with swimming eyes, and from head to foot
with a particular hour of the day or night and with she was filled with longing."
particular seasons or phenomena; there are modes Another group of early Rajasthani Ragmala
and moods of noon and midnight, of the spring pictures in the Museum collection includes fifteen
and of the autumn rains. Most of these moods areexamples by one hand and from one series. These
connected with love, in the various phases of expe- are distinguished alike by very brilliant coloring and
nence recognized by Hindu rhetoric, with more crby daring draughtsmanship. Here the esprit of
less mystical implications. It will be readily appar-Indian rhetoric finds a vigorous and powerful ex-
ent from all this that, without of course adding pression, not only without any sentimentality, but
anything to the music as such, a picture may with a savage and daring force that is clearly
embody the same mood that the music expressesdistinguishable from the tenderness which is so
and so in a sense interpret the music to those whocharacteristic of much of the later Rajput art of
are not primarily musical; and this interpretation is
the hills.
assisted by the representation of the characteristic These sixteenth century Rajasthani Raginis
associations of the hour or the weather and the possess an importance quite apart from that of their
relationships of the human actors. But though thetheme or emotional content and decorative charm.
modern student may avail himself of the pictures inThey represent the primitives of Rajput painting as
this way as the concert-goer reads his program, itwe know it, and throw a light on the origins of the
was not for this purpose they were designed. technique, which, so far as the drawing goes, it
Where they were made an understanding a has already been pointed out very closely repeats
musical understanding, that is - of the music was
the methods of classic Indian painting at Ajanta.
taken for granted. We can only say that these The dominant colors are red, yellow, black, and
modes or moods, in whichever way we regard dark green, and this tonality is strongly reminiscent
them, were favorite themes in Rajput painting, par-of the rather hot coloring of much of the work at
ticularly in the Rajasthani group, and form the Ajanta. Everything is in the highest degree con-
subject for many of the finest works. Amongst ventionalized, and there is not the least research of
Pahari paintings they occur only in the Jammu verisimilitude, and only the slightest traces of
group, and Kangra does not afford a single example. modelling. On the whole these early Raginis are
Those from Jammu generally illustrate Ragmalas to be regarded as the most important, and with the
with more than thirty-six members, and are briefly exception of the large cartoons, as by far the purest
inscribed in Takri characters without the quotation in idiom of all Rajput productions. If it were
of whole verses. possible to make use of the term decadence with-
The two Raginis reproduced in Figs. 2 and 3 out disparagement, one might say that we see here
are amongst the most important of the Rajput examples of the decadence of Ajanta painting
paintings in the Museum. Equally in drawing and after a thousand years; but these are rasher brilliant
tender color they are adequate to the ideas in- retardataires than decadents - they combine ex-
tended to be expressed, and characteristically treme conventionality with an almost disconcerting
Indian. vitality. Their summary methods are carried even
The first is Madhu-Madhavi (" Honey Flower"). further in the circular playing cards' which are still,
A lady with her maids stands in the palace garden * R4jpt Patntinua, PI. LXXVI, a and b.
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 53
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XVI, 54 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 55
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XVI, 56 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 57
another hand, represent Bhairava Mughal Raga example of this kind, based on an original
and Varanr
Ragini; these exhibit a very unusual Rajputcolor
representation
scheme of Ragini Todi is illustrated
in which deep blue predominatesinand Fig. 10, while
gold is another,
con- based on Bhairavi,
spicuous, and are to be regarded as Mughal representing Sivapuja - ladies worshipping the
rather than Rajput paintings. The architectureLingam at a Saiva shrine at night - is shown in
is represented as decorated with color, in the Fig. 1 1.
manner very usual in Mughal building, especially
III. The School of Jammu
in the time of Shah Jahan. These two examples,
by exception, have short inscriptions in Persian Jammu is one of the largest of the northem group
characters. of Himalayan Rajput hill states, and gives its name
Raga pictures from Jammu exhibit the usual to a provincial school of Pahari painting which even
characteristics of this provincial school. Ragini in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries preserves
Gujari is represented by a woman seated in a to a large degree the hot color and forcible drawing
field fondling two black bucks, while another woman which we have remarked to be characteristic of the
is playing the vina (Fig. 9). The motif is here sixteenth century Rajasthani primitives. With
not very different from that of Todi Ragini in the Jammu are to be associated Basoli, Kishtwar,
Rajasthani example. The inscription speaks of Chamba and other kingdoms of independent Rajput
Gujari Ragini as the wife of Dipak Raga. Another chiefs lying outside the main areas of Mughal
example illustrates a Raga not identified but related influence.
to Dipak (the mode of " Fire "), and shows a male Of this school the Museum possesses important
figure with three flaming heads and four arms examples in a series of unusually large paintings and
riding on a white elephant. drawings on paper, illustrating episodes of the siege
Certain of the Raga subjects are occasionally of Lanka as related in the Lankakandam of the
adopted by Mughal painters and used as pic- Ramayana. The story of the Ramayana, one of
turesque motifs rather than to express those general the two great epics of India, may be briefly recap-
ideas which are characteristic of Rajput art. A itulated. Rama, as an avatar of Vishnu, took birth
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XVI, 58 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7
Fig. 10 Todi Ragini Mughial, seventeenth century Fig. I/. Sivapuja (Bhairavi Ragini) Mughal,
seventeenthi century
Goloubew Collection
as the son of Dasaratha of Ayodhya, in order to In the picture reproduced (Fig. 1 2) we see the
accomplish the destruction of the demon king of armies of Rama investing the fortress of Lanka.
Lanka, Ravana. Rama's three brothers were Rama is seated upon the ground, which is red.
Lakshmana, Bharata, and Satrughna. He married Stormy clouds appear in the narrow strip of sky
Sita, daughter of Janaka. By the intrigues of his which is seen above the high horizon. The groves
mother-in-law he was banished for fourteen years, are filled with leaping monkeys and black bears
his brother Bharata meanwhile acting as regent. the subtly differentiated velvety blacks are particu-
Sita and Lakshmana accompanied him in exile, larly attractive. On the left the golden walls of
and these three led an idyllic life amongst the the fortress rise up into the sky; below the wall
hermitages of the Himalayan forests. Ravana, there is a garden of fruit trees, and in the foreground
however, carried off Sita while the brothers were the sea, full of strange monsters. Vibhishana is
pursuing a magic deer. The vulture Jatayu lost pointing to two captured rakshasa (demon) spies.
his life while endeavoring to rescue Sita as she wasAs M. Blochet lately remarked, "Cette peinture
borne through the air. Rama formed an alliance est evidemment la reproduction d'une fresque; c'est
with Hanuman, a leader of the monkeys, and une ceuvre tres puissante, digne de cette Iliade
received the aid of the hosts of the bears and d'Extreme Orient, dont les episodes emouvants
monkeys perhaps originally signifying the aborig-illustrent les murs du temple d'Angkor, dans un
inal tribes of southern India. Hanuman discovered style tout different." We recognize truly the
Sita in the Asoka grove of Ravana's palace gardens. characteristic aspect of a mural decoration the
A bridge was thrown across the sea ("Rama's descendant surely of just such an art as is
bridge" across the sea from southern India to Cey- spoken of in the Utlara Rama Charita Cf
lon, in fact, a series of coral reefs) and Rama and Bhavabhuti, where a whole scene in the first
Lakshmana, aided by Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, Act is occupied with a description of a series of
and by all the bears and monkeys, but especially Ramayana pictures painted on the walls of a
Hanuman, laid siege to Lanka, ultimately defeating quadrangle in the garden of Rama's palace at
and slaying Ravana and rescuing Sita, whose Ayodhya.
purity was attested by an ordeal. All returned to Other pictures in the series show the ten-headed
Ayodhya, where the coronation of Rama took Ravana within his city taking council with his
place, and Rama established a kingdom of justice followers; Sita in the Asoka garden, guarded by
and prospenrty. rakshasis (female demons); and battle scenes, in
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 59
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XVI, 60 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
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MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN XVI, 61
- w ~~~~~~~I
Ross-Coomaraswamy Collection
several uncolored drawings. Several of trated (Fig. 1 4), deeply felt, shows the devotee
the pictures
are inscribed at the back with extracts "1 taking
from the dust
theof the feet " of Narayana (Vishnu).
Valmiki Ramayana in Nagari characters, The latter,
and in accordance
in with Vaishnava conven-
several cases the drawings are annotated tion, is of abrief
with dark blue color -the same will be
noticed toscript
inscriptions in Takri character, the vernacular be the case with the figures of Rama in
of the Jammu hills. With the exception the of
Ramayana
certain pictures and of Krishna in other
Rajasthani cartoons, these are the largest Rajput paintings
Indian - and wears a yellow dholi and
paintings on paper extant. The Ragas and a garland of flowers: the four arms carry the usual
Raginis of the School of Jammu have already been attributes, mace, discus, conch, and lotus. The
referred to. ground is a brilliant red, and only a very narrow
The collections further include an incomplete strip of cloudy sky appears above the high horizon.
senes of sixteen small paintings with short inscrip- The identity of style with that of the Ramayana
tions and superscriptions in Takri character. The pictures will be obvious.
subjects are very varied, including representations The Krishna Lila, the themes of which will be
of gods, planets, and animals. Of the two examples discussed in subsequent articles mainly in connection
illustrated here the first (Fig. 1 3) -a picture of two with the school of Kangra, is also dealt with
deer fighting head to head under a tree is not only amongst the works of Jammu painters. An example
of remarkable charm of design and distinguished is illustrated in Fig. 1 5, representing Radha offering
execution, but of interest as reproducing a motif betel to Krishna, who is leaning towards her and
which occurs already several centuries earlier in a stands upon a full-blown lotus, the latter a hieratic
page of the Morgan manuscript of the Manafi-al motif somewhat realistically treated. The archaistic
Hayawan (Arabian, A. D. 1295), where it is to rendering of the fluttering muslin drapery will be
be associated with other Indian elements appearing remarked. It will also be observed how intently
in early Arabic illustration. The coloring is rich each is gazing at the other. It should be remem-
without being brilliant. The second picture illus- bered that in this tradition sacred and profane love
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XVI, 62 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BULLETIN
are treated as phases of one and the same expe- small proportion of portraits, showing Mughal
rience -an intuition of identity. The meeting of influence, but having a vigorous local character.
eyes is a motif constantly met with in Rajput painting; A very distinguished example is illustrated in
in Indian rhetoric " love at first sight" is summarily Fig. 16, representing a Raja of Bandralta, one
spoken of as charchasm (the meeting of four eyes). of the smaller Himalayan Rajput states in the
Romantic and decorative subjects are also found, Jammu district. The inscription reads: Raja
a characteristic example representing a lady wring- Hataf Bandral. A. K. C.
ing the water from her hair after her bath. But
even pictures such as this have generally a tradi- THE VACATION STORY-HOURS for children,
tional association of ideas of more significance than provided by the liberality of a friend of the Museum
their traditional theme. In Buddhist art this subject and carried on under the supervision of the School
might represent the goddess of Earth wringing from Committee of the city and of the Boston Social
her hair the water of merit when called upon by Union, were resumed July 1, and will continue daily
the Buddha as his witness; in Rajput art it is during August. The children are brought in special
usually Radha, whose beauty touches Krishna's cars from various settlement houses and public play-
heart as he oversees her at her bath, when she grounds, and spend about an hour and a half in the
wrings from her heavy tresses a "river of pearls." Museum under guidance. They first hear an illus-
We also meet with sets of pictures illustrating the trated talk in the Lecture Hall, then are to,ken to the
Eight Nayakas, or Heroines in Typical Situations: galleries to see some of the objects mentioned, and
the collection includes a striking Abhisarika of early after returning to the hall and talking over what they
seventeenth century date, in very strong colors, have seen, are dismissed, each with a post card of
representing a lady who has fearlessly braved thesome object spoken of. It is noteworthy that the
dangers of a dark and stormy night, and stands on interest excited by the excursions, especially among
the threshold of her lover's chamber, he lifting up children from the most congested districts of the
his hands in amazement. city, suffices to bring some of them again on foot
Paintings of the Jammu School also include a when it is not their turn to come in the cars.
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