The Beautiful, Magical World of Rajput Art | Hacker News Reader

The Beautiful, Magical World of Rajput Art

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If you are living in, or visiting San Francisco, then the "RAMA EPIC" Exhibition is worth checking out. It's on display at the Asian Art Museum in front of City Hall and features some of these Rajput Art paintings, as well as giant installations depicting various scenes.

More Info: http://www.asianart.org/exhibitions/rama-epic

Well, Rajput art got Mughal influence well before 1739, during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605) when some Rajput kings signed peace treaties and married their daughters into Royal Mughal family. The loot of Delhi in 1739 had only a minor influence on it. In fact, the Mughal art itself is heavily influenced by Rajput artists. Shahajahan's white marble came from Makarana in Rajastan. The Mughals lost their power and wealth well before 1739, during the long struggle in Deccan (1681-1707) ending with death of Aurangzeb in 1707. He was the last powerful Mughal Emperor who commanded a large army and had wealth to sponsor big artworks (but banned them due to purist islamic beleifs).

My family did a long road trip around Rajasthan back in the early 2000s -- there is gorgeous architecture and art strewn all over the landscape, completely unlike what you will find elsewhere in the world. As a brown guy raised in the West (or its embassies in other parts of the world) it was a formative experience, opening my eyes to the fantastically massive bodies of artistic achievement outside the confines of traditional western fine art.

I'd recommend a trip to the subcontinent if you ever get a chance, with the usual disclaimer: tread carefully if you're a woman. Lots of stories from my mom and sister (and more recently my wife) on that front, none of them good.

For an article about art...this was sure lacking art.

Haha, I thought the same thing! I kept reading, waiting for some pictures to show up. Nada. That said, at least I got through a well researched, historically accurate piece.

I went there hoping to see some good artwork, but didn't find much.

By the way, if you're interested in Indian art, here's some great work by Raja Ravi Varma, a celebrated painter.

http://ravivarma.org/Mythological-Characters-by-Raja-Ravi-Va...

http://ravivarma.org/People-Portraits-by-Raja-Ravi-Varma

http://ravivarma.org/Chromolithographs-by-Raja-Ravi-Varma

Ravi Varma is a peculiar example of Indian art. Basically, he employed European styles to Indian themes. Now, of course, his style has become a part of the cultural norm, with many homes worshipping his depictions of gods, without having a clue of who Ravi Varma was. Ravi Varma, as far as I know, never influenced other Indian artists.

The article, on the other hand, is about Rajput art, i.e., artists of that time and region created in that style. There are plenty of other regional styles, which may possibly help in understanding their cultures. Ravi Varma's paitings would be of little help there. That's not to say his paintings are good works of art. They are. But I think people have very different motivations for seeking ethnic art and mainstream art.

I was in Rajasthan a few months back. One of my favorite forms of art now! Some photos of (more architectural in nature) Rajput art in here. http://www.kylehotchkiss.com/photography/india-2016/

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