The intelligence of tradition in Rajput court painting
By: Molly Emma Aitken
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New Haven [Conn.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 340
ISBN-13: 9780300142297
Description: "The genre of Rajput painting flourished between the 16th and 19th centuries in the kingdoms that ruled what is now the Indian state of Rajasthan (place of rajas). Rajput paintings depicted the nobility and court spectacle as well as scenes from Krishna's life, the Hindu epics, and court poetry. Many Rajput kingdoms developed distinct styles, though they shared common conventions. This important book surveys the overall tradition of Indian Rajput painting, while developing new methods to ask unprecedented questions about meaning.

Through a series of in-depth studies, Aitken shows how traditional formal devices served as vital components of narrative meaning, expressions of social unity, and rich sources of intellectual play. Supported by beautiful full-color illustrations of rare and often inaccessible paintings, Aitken's study spans five centuries, providing a comprehensive and innovative look at the Rajasthan's court painting traditions and their continued relevance to contemporary art."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: the intelligence of tradition; title: Structures of desire: an introduction to the court paintings of Rajasthan; title: Interpreting style; title: The formalities: form and function in Mewar portraiture; title: Repetition and response: the case of Layla and Majnun; title: Chokha's shringara (amorous) style: the painter as interpreter of his tradition; title: Conclusion: the lives of Rajput pictorial forms from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century.