MEWAR, RAJASTHAN, CIRCA 1880

This painting comes from an illustrated manuscript of the ‘Six Seasons’ (shadritu) and is related to Vasant or the season of spring. The reverse of the painting is inscribed with verses of poetry including a description of Vasant in the Braja Bhasha dialect. The manuscript was made for Maharana Sajjan Singh of Udaipur and the paintings depict the Maharana engaged in different activities according to the different seasons. The shadritu is related to the more well-known baramasa (twelve months) series of paintings. The shadritu illustrates the change in seasons and the joys that this brings whereas the baramasa focuses on the emotional relationship of two lovers through the cycle of the seasons. Three further pages from this same series were recently with P. Bubbar, 2012, nos.13-15, pp.48-59.