The Rajasthani Schools of Painting

The Western Indian manuscript painting tradition guided Rajasthani miniature painting in several ways:

- It established the use of handmade paper manuscripts and the idea of painting on waslis or layered paper sheets.
- The tradition encouraged flat, two-dimensional treatment of space, with emphasis on outline, simple compositions and bright colours.
- Rajasthani painters continued the habit of illustrating religious and literary texts such as the Ramayana, Bhagvata Purana, Gita Govinda, Rasikapriya and Ragamala.
- It also influenced the tendency to make paintings as narrative illustrations, where scenes from a text are shown clearly and often with labels or verses.
- The chapter also shows that Malwa paintings appear as a continuation of stylistic progress from Jain manuscripts to later manuscript paintings.

Thus, the Western Indian manuscript tradition provided the material basis, format, and narrative style for later Rajasthani miniature schools, even though each school later developed its own regional character.

The chapter describes several Rajasthani schools of painting, each with its own style:

- Malwa School: Flourished between 1600 and 1700 CE. It is known for a two-dimensional, simplistic language and strong indigenous austerity. Example: the illustrated Amaru Shataka dated 1652 and a Ragamala painting by Madho Das (1680).
- Mewar School: Known for bold, direct compositions, vibrant colours and later refined style. Example: Ragamala painted at Chawand in 1605 by Nisardin; also Sahibdin’s Yuddha Kanda of Ramayana (1652).
- Bundi School: Famous for unblemished colour sense, excellent formal design, lush vegetation, wildlife and picturesque landscapes. Example: Bundi Ragamala (1591); Raga Dipak; Baramasa paintings.
- Kota School: Developed from Bundi and became known for hunting scenes, spontaneous execution, marked shading and strong rendering of animals. Example: Maharaja Ram Singh I of Kota hunting lions at Mukundgarh (1695).
- Bikaner School: Influenced by Mughal elegance and a subdued colour palette, with refined workmanship and documented artists. Example: Krishna supporting Mount Govardhan by Shahadin (1690).
- Kishangarh School: Highly stylised, with elongated forms, arched eyebrows, lotus-shaped eyes and elegant faces. Example: Krishna and Radha in a pavilion by Nihal Chand (1750) and Bani Thani.
- Jodhpur School: Retained a strong indigenous folkish style though influenced by Mughal portraiture. It produced many Ramayana, Dhola-Maru and court scenes. Example: Dhola and Maru (1810).
- Jaipur School: Influenced by Mughal art but later developed its own refined style, with large formats, portraits and literary themes. Example: The Hour of Godhuli (1780).

So, each school is identifiable by its colour, composition, subject matter, and regional taste, and the chapter gives many examples to support these traits.

Ragamala means ‘garland of ragas’. It is a pictorial interpretation of ragas and raginis in human or divine form. Each raga is associated with a particular mood, time of day and season. Ragamala sets are usually arranged in 36 or 42 folios, grouped into families headed by a male raga and his six female consorts, the raginis.

Examples from Rajasthan include:

- Mewar: The early dated Ragamala set painted at Chawand in 1605 by Nisardin. Also the famous Maru Ragini from Mewar, painted by Sahibdin in 1628.
- Bundi: Bundi Ragamala dated 1591 and Raga Dipak.
- Malwa: A Ragamala painting by Madho Das dated 1680.
- Bikaner: Several sets by artists like Nuruddin and others include Ragamala paintings; the chapter mentions his works and the Bikaner school’s documented sets.
- Jaipur: During Sawai Jai Singh’s reign, artists painted sets based on Ragamala.
- Jodhpur: One of the earliest sets painted in Pali was a Ragamala set by Virji in 1623.

Thus, Ragamala painting is a visual way of expressing the emotional and musical idea of ragas through painting, and it was popular in many Rajasthani schools.