Art Profile
INTRODUCING INDIAN MINIATURES
The Goddess on Jewel Island
LITERARY RELEVANCE OF THE ARTWORK
CHARACTER AND THEME: ROSHAN & ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS
Quote from “The Spice Temple” Novel
“Ishan’s father, Roshan, was a Mewari artist from Udaipur, specializing in miniature paintings. As a young man, he traveled to sell his artworks, with his repertoire eventually expanding to other artefacts, including handcrafted furniture, religious icons, and other forms of art. His reputation for possessing or finding exquisite pieces grew amongst hotels, guesthouses and wealthy private residences. As a result, he journeyed extensively throughout India, selling or searching for treasures.”
Backstory of Ishan
Ishan grows up in Rajasthan, India. His mother is from Kerala, where her parents have a charming guesthouse set along the shores of the backwaters in Alleppey. His father, Roshan, is a Mewari artist. The inclusion of Mewari art through the character Roshan highlights this very special artform. These masters create works of intricate detail – with the strokes from a single hair from the tail of a squirrel – that not only baffle the eye but are also exquisite examples of storytelling. As told by a Mewari artist in Udaipur, this artform could be at risk of being lost if not supported, which is one of the reasons why it is featured in “The Spice Temple” works through the character Roshan.
Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland has an impressive collection of Indian miniature paintings and is a fantastic place to explore this artform.
Visit their website to discover more: Museum Rietberg – Indian Miniature Painting
About Udaipur
Udaipur, also know as the City of Lakes, is known for its stunning lakes and palaces in Rajasthan, India. It vibrant cultural and artistic heritage is expressed through miniature paintings, traditional Rajasthani folk art, and intricate handicrafts such as textiles, pottery, and jewelry. Mewari art or painting is characterized by intricate designs, vibrant colors, and a focus on depicting mythology, royal court scenes, and religious themes with precision and detail. It often incorporates techniques like miniature painting, frescoes, and intricate patterns, showcasing a special artistic mastery and craftsmanship of the artisans from this region.
Paintings from Royal Udaipur
From the sixth century through the 18th century, poets and connoisseurs, delighted in puns and double entendres. First in classical Sanskrit and later in regional vernaculars, the literary device of slesha, which embeds two meanings into one word, sentence or text, was a cultural phenomenon that colored the visual arts. These paintings simultaneously represent Udaipur and a divine realm. Court viewers, who were well versed in poetics, would have appreciated the many clever ways that these artists cast Udaipur as heaven on earth.
INSIGHTS: RIETBERG AND SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS
ABOUT THIS ARTWORK
Painted by a master artist at the court of Sangram Singh II (r. 1710-34), the delicate Goddess on Jewel Island illustrates the eighth verse of the Saundaryalahari (Flood of Beauty), a devotional poem that praises the infinitely powerful and irresistibly beautiful Great Goddess. The painting evokes the poem’s mood of sensuous bliss. Seated in a golden palace the goddess gazes intently into the eyes of her beloved husband, Shiva, whose dreamy glance, seems to remind that he has no power without her. Their connection is palpable and passionate, while her touch glances, his arm, his leg rest between her thighs, the soul of his left foot caresses her knee, and one very long finger coyly strokes, a fragrant blossom.
SOURCE: © Smithsonian Exhibition and Catalogue, “A Splendid Land – Paintings from Royal Udaipur” Debra Diamond and Dipti Khera, 2023 Gratitude to Dipti Khera for sharing her insights and knowledge.
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