Rajput Paintings: Romantic, Divine and Courtly Art from India

To enter the world of Rajput Painting is to enter a dream world of fantasy and colour, of heroes and heroines gorgeously attired in brilliant hues, of epic poems and love songs, of courtly majesty and India's romantic past. This beautiful survey conveys the spirit of the great Hindu classical tradition that existed in all the arts, including painting and literature, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. In this richly illustrated book, Roda Ahluwalia sets Rajput Painting in its historical and art-historical background, looking at local styles in the principalities of Rajasthan, Central India and the Punjab. She explores the themes -- mainly taken from folk tales and epic literature, erotic and religious poems, myths, legends and music - as well as the influence of Mughal painting and the importance of the cult of Krishna. The illustrations, taken mainly from the superb collections of the British Museum and the British Library, include many previously unpublished images, allowing a rare insight into this world of colour and romance.