“Garden and Cosmos” is a dazzling exhibit of Indian paintings at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, moving through magical landscapes inhabited by kings, courtiers and gods. It presents the political and spiritual geography of Marwar, a desert kingdom in northwestern India, now part of the state of Rajasthan.
Both epic and surprisingly abstract, the 60 works trace the changing tastes of three Hindu kings from the Rathore dynasty who were great art patrons during the 17th century through the early 19th century.
As these maharajas became more powerful and cosmopolitan, they commissioned artworks ever bigger in scope and subject. By the end of the show, the subject matter has shifted from the profane to the sacred with heaven and earth commingling in fantastic scenes worthy of a Hollywood movie.
The history behind the works is well explained in wall texts and an audio guide with commentary by curator Debra Diamond, an expert in late pre-colonial Indian painting who makes a persuasive case for its reappraisal.
As she notes, the exhibit’s large paintings, most about four feet wide, counter the stereotype of Indian manuscripts as miniature in size and innovation. Originally, these folios were held aloft for the nobility to admire while poetry related to the theme of the picture was sung or recited.
Shown to the public for the first time, virtually all of the artworks were hidden in wooden boxes until the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, the co-sponsor of the exhibit, rescued them from storage. Established in 1972 by India’s Maharaja Gajsinghji II, a descendent of the rulers represented in the show, this cultural organization has succeeded to preserve the historical forts and palaces in Rajasthan.
Some of its restoration efforts were based on the detailed architectural images represented in the first works in this exhibit. Photos of the old forts alongside several paintings allow for strikingly direct comparisons.
Ornate arches, brightly colored towers and manicured gardens full of geometric flower beds fill these early 18th-century scenes of court life. Rendered in great detail, the watercolors reflect the influence of the naturalistic court style of the Mogul Empire (1526-1857) centered at Delhi.
They present sensuous scenes of musical performances, worship rituals and staged battles with elephants - all within the opulent pleasure palace built by Maharaja Bakhat Singh in Nagaur, a fortified settlement northeast of the capital city of Jodhpur. Surrounded by female attendants, the turbaned king with his distinctive sideburns is always the focus of attention and often shown smelling a rose.
He needed to be reminded of the sweetness of life. Bakhat was granted the territory of Naguar as a reward for killing his father in 1724. The evil deed allowed his elder brother to ascend to the Marwar throne but didn’t go unpunished: Bakhat was poisoned in 1752 by his niece in retribution for the murder.
In the next gallery, the paintings collected by Bakhat’s son, Maharaja Vijai Singh, shift from the secular to the spiritual world. They aren’t religiously reverential in the Western sense, but depict gods as seductive, playful and vengeful as humans. Many of these large watercolors resemble action-adventure stories set within lush landscapes of swirling rivers, mountains and clouds.
One series shows the blue-skinned, elusive Krishna wooing gopis (milkmaids) in the forest and two-timing them before disappearing. It is meant to represent the love between the deity and devotees.
An even more fantastic painting pits the god Rama and his brother Lakshimana against the demon king Ravana in a fierce battle. The heroes are shown being carried across a pink bridge over a carpet of blue water filled with swimming monkeys and alligators.
The exhibit then focuses on the large manuscripts created by the atelier of Vijai’s heir apparent, Man Singh, and another story of royal skullduggery. The young prince didn’t assume power right away; his uncle usurped the throne and tried to have Man killed.
Meanwhile, the prince received a prophetic warning that he should not surrender to the despot. Days later, the malevolent uncle died and Man Singh became the ruler of Marwar from 1803 to 1843.
The maharaja never forgot the messenger of the prophecy, an ascetic called a Nath who practiced yoga and reputedly had godlike powers. He gave the Naths financial and political support, while expressing his devotion to these spiritual advisers through worshipful scenes of temples and metaphysical spaces.
The most interesting paintings in this part of the show attempt to show the Naths’ interpretation of cosmological evolution, from nothingness to life. In one minimalist triptych, an empty square of shimmering gold is followed by panels inhabited by a pair of orange-robed deities representing consciousness and matter.
Ending the exhibit is another series of luminous, color field paintings. These works show Nath mahasiddhas (great perfected beings) floating on swirling waters painted in scalloped patterns. Some of the figures rest on a turtle, a bird and a snake; others are lifted by green figures seated on antelopes.
One need not understand the esoteric meanings of these symbols to appreciate the expansive ocean scenes as representing the vastness of the universe. They were created in the 1820s by a Muslim artist called Bulaki, who had the most abstract sensibility in Man Singh’s atelier.
By then, the British had begun persecuting the Naths as impediments to colonial rule. Protesting the arrest of his religious allies, Man Singh left his Jodhpur fort in 1843 to fast in a garden tent. He died a few months later and his Nath-focused paintings were stored away, only to be rediscovered and celebrated in this remarkable exhibit.
WHEN YOU GO
WHAT: “Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur”
WHERE: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 4 except Christmas Day
ADMISSION: Free
PHONE: 202/633-1000
WEB SITE: www.asia.si.edu
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