Jodhpur and Jaipur

Jodhpur kept a strong folk style, despite Mughal influence. Virji painted a Ragamala at Pali (1623). From about 1640, under Jaswant Singh, there were documentary portraits and court scenes; under Ajit Singh, portraits of the hero Durgadas Rathore on horseback became popular.

Under Man Singh (1803-1843) came a Ramayana (1804), which shows Jodhpur's own bazaars as Ayodhya, and sets of Dhola-Maru, the Panchatantra and the Nath Charita (1824). The Chaugan Players (1810, by Dana) mixes Mughal, Deccani, Bundi and Kishangarh features on a flat green ground.

Jaipur painting began at Amer, the state closest to the Mughal capitals. Raja Bharmal, Bhagwant Das and Man Singh were closely tied to Akbar. Sawai Jai Singh founded Jaipur in 1727, brought in Mughal painters, and reorganised the Suratkhana, the workshop where paintings were made and stored.

Under Sawai Pratap Singh (1779-1803), with about 50 artists, a true Jaipur style emerged, blending Mughal and local features. Copies were made by tracing and pouncing (pricking holes along the outline and dusting colour through). Later came large formats, life-size portraits and lavish gold.

Guman's 'Rama meets Members of his Family at Chitrakut' (1740-1750) is a continuous narrative. Read from left to right, the same figures appear several times: from the arrival of the mothers, to Rama's grief, to the group leaving.