Untitled

Chokha

ca. 1800–10 · Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper · Asian Art

A nobleman ascends a rope to visit his lover, who reclines within the palace’s defended walls. The clandestine tryst is a theme that runs through the poetry of this period, and certainly the tension of this forbidden act would have appealed to royal tastes. Presenting this scene in the somber tones of night is an innovation of the artist Chokha, who followed his father, Bagta, as the major Mewar painter during this period. Chokha gives the painting a sense of drama by juxtaposing the quietude of the sleeping cows and guards with the brightly colored protagonists and a roiling band of black thunderclouds.

Artist

Chokha

Date

ca. 1800–10

Medium

Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper

Culture

India (Rajasthan, Mewar)

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2006