HYDERABAD: The parting monsoon unveils two books published by the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of India Art on the subject of Rajasthani Drawing and Rajasthani Paintings. The initiative calls to mind the mystery of man’s creativity and the wonderment to its beholder; a foundation of man’s desire to understand ensues. And indeed the study of our cultural traditions leads us to our innate self-belief; reinforce the distinctiveness of our activities.
The hard bound books with coloured images calibrated with the original works and an extensive bibliography gives an insight to the history, culture and narratives through the prevalent practice of drawings and paintings of the Rajasthani school.
The Rajasthani Drawing in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art jointly authored by Andrew Topsfield and Jagdish Mittal and Rajasthani Paintings in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, edited by John Seyller, is expounded through essays by five scholars — Milo Cleveland Beach, Catherine Glynn, Andrew Topsfield, John Seyller and Jagdish Mittal. Both the books present the Mittal Museum’s holdings of drawings and paintings from Rajasthan, known to be the finest of their kind in the world. The collection was formed with a discerning eye and cultivated understanding of the couple Jagdish Mittal and his wife, Kamla, who met in Shantiniketan, while they were students at Kala Bhavan.
ADVERTISEMENT
As trained artists, they were quick to distinguish the proximity to perfection and descriptive ingenuity of these drawings, as well as the competence they had to shed light on the original method of making these works from start to finish. The books introduce the readers to extensive research by the authorities on Rajasthani art. As a result, the text offers an insightful understanding of the style and aesthetic quality of this school of drawing and painting with examples from Ajmer, Bikaner, Devgarh, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sawar, and Kishangarh.