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Lot Essay
This work owes much to the style of Nainsukh of Guler, a prolific and celebrated artist born between 1710-1725. Although the clarity of the composition or finesse of execution of the present work is not of the standard usually associated with Nainsukh, the work shares many elements of his composition and manner. As well as numerous portraits of Balwant Singh of Jasrota of whom Nainsukh was the favoured artist, Nainsukh also had a tendency to depict ordinary people, like those in the present work - often musicians and dancers or people he saw around him. Though filled with personality, these are not characters with what Goswamy terms 'picturesque' faces - or those that would naturally attract attention (B.N.Goswamy, Nainsukh of Guler. A great Indian Painter from a Small Hill-State, Zurich, 1997, p.73). He is described as having a flair for 'fluent naturalism and an effortless skill in capturing likenesses' unlike much of the stiff and formal styles previously current in Guler and Jammu where he worked. Because of this it is suggested either that he spent his formative years at the Mughal imperial court or that he benefited from the example of Guler artists who may have worked in Delhi between 1730-40 (W.G.Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, Vol. I, London, 1973, p.194). The artist of this miniature is likely to have been a follower of Nainsukh or to have been influenced by his work. For more information on the artist see the comprehensive work by B.N.Goswamy, Nainsukh of Guler. A great Indian Painter from a Small Hill-State.