Indian Miniature Paintings

Although Islam has a major influence on India after about 1500, particularly after the founding of the Mughal dynasty imports significant Islamic influence into northern India, obviously India is a large and diverse place with many different traditions. One of those traditions is in the Rajput kingdoms, a small kingdom in northwestern India that paid tribute to but remained independent of the Mughal state for many years. And the Rajput kingdoms were Hindu. What that results in artistically is works of art that express Hindu ideas and Hindu stories, while having some influence from the styles and techniques of their Islamic neighbors. So this is another Indian miniature painting. And right away we might notice some differences with the Islamic miniature paintings we saw in the last video. First of all, there is no artist named here. Like I mentioned briefly in the other video, Hindu artists typically remained anonymous and were considered as craftsmen rather than celebrities or somebody whose name would enhance the value of a piece. Similarly, the subject matter is of a Hindu story, a story from Hindu religious texts, rather than an Islamic story. In terms of what is similar, the size is similar. This is a book or hand-sized painting designed to be viewed and interacted with at close range. And the materials are similar. Both the last Islamic miniature we saw and this one are painted in gouache, which is a kind of opaque watercolor. The story shown in this particular image is a story of Krishna and Radha in the pavilion. So Krishna is one of the Hindu gods. We can distinguish him here by his blue skin. And this comes from a series of stories that talks about Krishna's mischief with the herdswomen. The other important detail to be aware of here is that within the Hindu tradition, sexuality and sex is seen as a way to connect with the divine. And therefore, religious art often has an erotic or sexual component to it. Unfortunately, in the West, many of these ideas were seen as forbidden or taboo. And particularly in the periods when many of these texts were first translated into English, there was a very patriarchal system that tried to protect women, children, and the uneducated from ideas about sex and sexuality, which often results in very euphemistic language around these pieces. For instance, I just mentioned that this is part of a series of stories called Krishna's Mischief, quote unquote, with the herdswomen. What that actually translates to is Krishna, in some cases, doing things we would consider actually mischievous. But a lot of this has a kind of sexual component, as we can clearly see in this painting. This painting is not overly graphic. The couple here is not engaged in sex, but the situation is clearly sexual. They're both naked. They're in a bed. He's holding her and fondling her breasts. Other elements about this painting show us a more subtle sexuality as well. So we can see that it is nighttime. This is a dark scene. And according to the Rajput tradition, nighttime was a good time to have a tryst or to meet a secret lover. You could sneak off and nobody would see you. Similarly, along the top edge of the painting, we see a lightning bolt snaking across the sky. That lightning bolt is a symbol of sexual excitement in this particular style of painting. Also around the pavilion, we see these trees and plants and they are flowering. They are bearing fruit. And all of those things are part of a plant reproduction. So we see a similarity or relatedness to human sexuality and human reproduction. In later Indian painting, we see a strong influence of European styles of art. And this is particularly true after in and after the 19th century when we see the British go from having just a significant economic presence in India to actually claiming India as a colony of the British Empire. This particular image is a portrait of the Maharaja, which is a title that's similar to a prince, Jaswant Singh of Marwar. And the Maharaja in this case was cooperating with the British colonial overlords. And we see this interest in Britishness or in Europeanness reflected in his portrait. This does have some things in common with the Indian miniature we saw in the last slide. It is a relatively small size of painting still, and it is still made of the same materials. This is another painting made of gouache. However, the subject matter really mixes European and Native Indian styles. This particular painting was based on a reference photograph, which we are lucky enough to still have. We can see on the left hand side here. And in some cases, these images were actually painted directly onto the photographs and overlay the original photographs. But in this case, the photograph is separate. However, if we look to the painting on the right hand side of the slide, we can see many elements which are highly European. The Maharaja here sits in a very ordinary European style chair. He's not on a throne. And this other furnishings around him, the small table with the tablecloth, the books and cut flowers on the table, all reflect a European sensibility. Similarly, in his clothing, we can see his trousers and heeled riding boots are European style, but his long jacket and his head wrap are more Indian in style. He wears two necklaces or two large pieces of jewelry. The emerald collar that is a choker and fits close to the neck reflects his wealth and one of the sources of wealth of the Kingdom of Marwar, which was gemstones. And then the longer gold chain is an honor called the Order of the Star of India. This was an honor that was given by the British to people who gave them significant assistance in the Indian colony. And if we see a really good reproduction of this painting, we can tell that the cameo there is Queen Victoria.