Painted delight

by Stella Kramrisch

During three centuries of princely patronage, Indian artists produced luminous paintings for books and albums which continue to enchant viewers today. Scenes from the lives of the great emperors, verdant hills and flowering gardens, real and mythical animals, episodes of the hunt, and love idylls were transferred in glowing colors onto the painted page. The high level of artistic experience in which they were conceived, painted, and contemplated, gives the work of numerous schools and widely different styles freshness and radiance. Painted Delight: Indian Paintings from Philadelphia Collections includes some 140 masterworks of the Mughal and Rajput schools, many of which have never before been exhibited or published. The exhibition is organized by Stella Kramrisch, Curator Emeritus of Indian Art, as part of the nationwide Festival of India in 1985-86.