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Lot Essay
This painting is from a dispersed series of the Ramayana of Valmiki, painted in Kangra circa 1775-1780, by a master of the first generation after Nainsukh. The series originally belonged to the dealer C.L. Bharany from which it takes its name. Together with two other series, the 'First' or 'Garwhal' Gita Govinda and the 'First' or 'Modi' Bhagavata Purana, it exemplifies the finest of the production at Kangra during the last quarter of the 18th century.
According to W.G. Archer, these three series were commissioned by the mother of Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra (r. 1775-1823) for his wedding in 1781. The paintings from the present Ramayana series are particularly inventive and varied although following a similar composition: along the diagonal, with a succession of plans and perspectives. It is possible that various hands participated in this series although the artist responsible for this painting is probably the same who painted all cityscapes in the Ramayana . A possible attribution to Gaudhi, the second of Nainsukh's four sons has been suggested. (Amina Okada, dir., Pouvoir et Desir, Miniatures Indiennes de la Collection Edwin Binney 3rd du San Diego Museum of Art, Paris, 2003, cat.46, p.122-123)
About 100 pages of the Bharany Ramayana subsist in in private and public collections. Five illustrations from the Edwin Binney Collection are in the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.1267; 1990:1260; 1990:1265; 1990:1266; 1990:1268). Another is in the Brooklyn Museum, New York (Amy G. Poster, et al, Realms of Heroism, Indian Paintings at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1994, cat. 215, pp.262-263).
According to W.G. Archer, these three series were commissioned by the mother of Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra (r. 1775-1823) for his wedding in 1781. The paintings from the present Ramayana series are particularly inventive and varied although following a similar composition: along the diagonal, with a succession of plans and perspectives. It is possible that various hands participated in this series although the artist responsible for this painting is probably the same who painted all cityscapes in the Ramayana . A possible attribution to Gaudhi, the second of Nainsukh's four sons has been suggested. (Amina Okada, dir., Pouvoir et Desir, Miniatures Indiennes de la Collection Edwin Binney 3rd du San Diego Museum of Art, Paris, 2003, cat.46, p.122-123)
About 100 pages of the Bharany Ramayana subsist in in private and public collections. Five illustrations from the Edwin Binney Collection are in the San Diego Museum of Art (1990.1267; 1990:1260; 1990:1265; 1990:1266; 1990:1268). Another is in the Brooklyn Museum, New York (Amy G. Poster, et al, Realms of Heroism, Indian Paintings at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1994, cat. 215, pp.262-263).