#Repost @topophilia.india with @make_repost ・・・ The arrival of photography possibly influenced the biggest change in traditional miniature paintings within the courts of India. This pair of royal portraits from Rajpipla in Gujarat feature Maharaja Gambhir Singh (1862-1915) and his unnamed Maharani. The image is possibly from 1897 when the ruler was crowned; a period when large format painted portraits were being created across Princely State’s based on photographs. While photography offered the comfort of what was purported to be real, painters were able to produce technicolor dreams that India favoured. Photographic images were typically enlarged, and the artist then got on to filling in color details, adding and embellishing elements that may or may not have featured in the original image. The use of a repetitive pattern for the floor was a common trope, as was the flower vase on cloth covered tables. The latter was frequently an aid to help keep the sitter still in these times of long exposure cameras. These images are heavily damaged around their edges, but the power and vitality of royal persona is nevertheless conveyed in carriage, clothing and the accessories worn. The confident stare heightens the drama. In my study of painted photographs and paintings inspired by photographs like these, one element that distinguishes most images is the hand of the artist. Some images are done by court painters whose careful knowledge of details and techniques comes thru in their work. The other group of artists are Bazaar painters, patronized by the non-elite cognoscenti. The portraits here are curious since in the depiction of details they are fairly accurate with well executed detailing while the choice of color palette is more akin to the bazaar style. Did two groups of painters come together in this creation? Indian art doesn’t reveal its secrets easily and we plod on seeing and seeking. #Portraiture #Portrait #Rajpipla #Gujarat #Painting #Photography #Maharaja #Maharani #20thcentury #Indianart #Indianpainting #Tiopotalks #India https://www.instagram.com/p/CervbVrv1zs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=