Page 145 - Eye of the beholder

The beauTy of Pahari PainTinGS
The idealized depiction of the female form in Indian painting reached the zenith of its expression through the Pahari idiom. The beauty that it achieved through the use of its primary iconographic elements - the sharp nose, the almond eyes,the prominent breasts and the profile view - remains unsurpassed in the history of Indian art. Though syncretic in their evolution, the Kangra , Kulu and Mandi schools had substantial original elements too.
Around the 1950s, many of the erstwhile maharajas started selling off their personal collection of miniatures to collectors abroad. Many scholar connoisseur collectors like Claus Virch started accumulating their collections at this time. Their service to Indian art lies not only in collecting it assiduously, but also in researching and publishing it diligently.
As the saying goes in the art world: Great art comes to the market because of the three D's - Death, Divorce and Debt. The two paintings depicted here came to the market after Claus Virch's death. To my eyes, they represented masterpieces of Kangra painting that also had an illustrious provenance. The two works were a part of the private collection of Claus Virch- the curator of the Metropolitan Museum, USA. Additionally, they were published and commented upon by Alice Heeramaneck - a legendary figure in the world of Indian miniatures. It is quite possible that before becoming part of the Claus Virch collection, these two paintings were part of the Heeramaneck collection.
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