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Lot Essay
Maharaja Man Singh (r.1803-43) is portrayed here as a detached and dignified figure in the center of the composition although he is celebrating a festival of color and exuberance with the ladies of his court. Holi is the Hindu celebration of spring and is celebrated on the approach of the spring equinox, on Phalgun Purnima (Full Moon). The ladies in colorful dresses, surrounded by splashes of pink and yellow arcs of color, provide a contrast against the Maharaja’s white angarkha and the white background of the palace terrace.
Although Man Singh’s rule was troubled by political and financial turmoil, he is known for commissioning several paintings of festivals, palace activities and large-format durbar scenes during his reign. There are other known illustrations of Man Singh celebrating Holi, often portraying the Maharaja as a sedate figure in a scene of riotous color. A large example in the collections of the Mehrangarh Museum in Jodhpur (no. 6(2)), illustrated in R. Crill, Marwar Painting: a History of the Jodhpur Style, 1999, pg. 138, fig. 111. There are two known examples in the collections Umaid Bhavan Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan (nos. 6(4) and 6(5)) where he is shown sitting passively even while being squirted with colored water by a seated Nath yogi (ibid.,note 20, pg.165). For another example which sold at auction, see Sotheby's, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, New York, 29 March 2006, lot 175.
Although Man Singh’s rule was troubled by political and financial turmoil, he is known for commissioning several paintings of festivals, palace activities and large-format durbar scenes during his reign. There are other known illustrations of Man Singh celebrating Holi, often portraying the Maharaja as a sedate figure in a scene of riotous color. A large example in the collections of the Mehrangarh Museum in Jodhpur (no. 6(2)), illustrated in R. Crill, Marwar Painting: a History of the Jodhpur Style, 1999, pg. 138, fig. 111. There are two known examples in the collections Umaid Bhavan Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan (nos. 6(4) and 6(5)) where he is shown sitting passively even while being squirted with colored water by a seated Nath yogi (ibid.,note 20, pg.165). For another example which sold at auction, see Sotheby's, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, New York, 29 March 2006, lot 175.