I could even argue for connection to modern art. A painting of the Earth goddess Bhumi returning stolen goods to Krishna, avatar of the god Vishnu, suggested to me the bold coloring and spatial organization of The Red Studio by Henri Matisse. This color charge, achieved with opaque watercolors, characterizes Indian painting of all styles and periods. The effect is akin to enameling, and it makes every painting feel precious. Many of the paintings in the collection, all of which are illustrated in the specialist-oriented exhibition catalog, come from Rajasthan, in the northwest of modern India, and the Panjab Hills, in the far north.
Big plants are a Deccani specialty.
The middle section of the exhibition, which features Panjabi pictures, is especially impressive. Love stories, divine and human, are a mainstay of Indian art, and this group of paintings includes several. The most striking in purely visual terms depicts the blue-skinned Krishna sitting in a forest at night, waiting for Radha, his lover. In Hindu mythology, Krishna is a prolific seducer. Another picture in the exhibition depicts him cavorting with a group of female cowherds while a jealous Radha looks on.