Hadauti Painting

Hadauti Painting 

The painting traditions in the region of Kota and Bundi located in southeastern Rajasthan are collectively known as Hadauti paintings.

Bundi

One of the earliest examples of the Bundi Paintings is the Chunar Ragamala painted in 1561. The painting showed marked influence of the Mughal style. The development of the Bundi School in the early 17th century is unclear but isolated examples of creative brilliance reveal the ongoing development of Bundi style. Wall paintings from the reign of Rao Ratan Singh (1607-31) are significant examples of Bundi Style.

Under Rao Chattar Sal (1631-58) and Bhao Singh (1658-81) Bundi paintings emphasized on court scenes. Themes from the life of nobles, lovers, and ladies were extensively used in the paintings. Bhagavata Purana illustrations of 1640 are other notable works of art from this genre.

Though Bundi School had close association with the Mughal style yet it was never fundamental to the evolution and growth of Bundi paintings.

From the second half of the 17th century three significant paintings; one, dated 1662, of a couple watching pigeons, second, from 1682, of a couple in a pavilion, third, dated 1689, of lovers viewing a crescent moon show the artistic merit of this school. These paintings employed bold, bright colors of Rajasthani style however the delicacy of the Mughal style was also not abandoned.

Kota

A Mughal Decree in 1624-25 led to the carving of Kota state from the kingdom of Bundi. Kota paintings were spontaneous and calligraphic in execution and emphasized on double lidded eye and marked shading. It is likely that artists traveled freely from state to state and hence the influence of each other styles is conspicuous in the paintings.

During the reign of Jagat Singh (1658-84) portraitures were produced that employed vibrant colors and bold lines. Under the reign of Arjun Singh ( 1720-23), a style emerged where a male was depicted with a long hooked nose.

In the 18th century, Kota became popular for its superb hunting scenes, Ragamalas, and portraits that often bore high documentary value.

In the 19th century during the reign of Ram Singh II (1827-66), the Kota paintings underwent revival. He commissioned number of paintings depicting scenes of worship, hunting, darbar and processions.

The Hadauti paintings are often regarded as one of the highest quality of paintings in the Rajput style.

Rajasthani Painting

Rajasthani paintings covered a wide area including Malwa, Bundelkhand, Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Jaipur, Bikaner, Sirohi, Sawar, Kishangarh and Marwar. What is interesting to note is that each centre developed its own individual characteristics. In Rajputana, painting was already in vogue in the form of Western Indian or Jain Style. This had provided a base for the growth of various schools of paintings under the influence of the popular Mughal School from circa 1590-1600. Nevertheless the Rajasthani kalams developed their own styles in the years that followed.

One striking feature of of Rajasthani Paintings is the arrangement of figures as even small figures are not are not obscured in the composition. the background, the flora and fauna and the symbols help the composition to express an intensity of feelings and emotions. Architecture usually painted in the background, is used as a device to create perspective and depth.  

Amber in Rajasthan was one of the first kingdoms to become the Vassal of Akbar but noticeably its painting style remained conventional like that of Malwa. However, the court portraitures were executed in markedly Mughal style. In 1728, Sawai Jai Singh shifted the capital from Amber to Jaipur. He and his successors patronized many artists. The paintings clearly showed inheritance from the Mughal source but the bold compositions and use of abstractions were distinctly regional.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries numerous works of art were produced that depicted episodes from the life of Krishna. The names of the artists that doted the royal courts are evident in the court records and inscriptions on paintings. Ragamala and devotional subjects remained the popular themes of the paintings in the 19th century and found patronage outside Jaipur court too.


Painting traditions in Bikaner followed a close Mughal tradition. Muslim artists settled here brought with them the highly refined and delicate Mughal style. Deccani paintings also had a marked influence on the Bikaner paintings. During the late 18th century paintings in Bikaner started showing conservative Rajput styles. It embraced the flatness and abstractions of the Rajasthani style. Though, Bikaner style was rich in documentation it never acquired the ostentation of the later Jodhpur portraits.