DOI issue:
Nr. 164 (October, 1910)
DOI article:Coomaraswamy, Ananda K.: Night effects in Indian pictures
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19867#0406
Night Effects in Indian Pictures
with fireworks, the third an attendant, standing on Persian. The term Indo-Persian, however, is only
a terrace, with a lake and low hills behind. The really applicable to the earlier Mughal style (late
sweet serene faces and exquisite dresses, lit up by sixteenth and early seventeenth century). The
the "golden rain," stand out against the dark later Mughal style (seventeenth and early eighteenth
background of the night. Though not signed, it is century) owes too much to Central Asian and to
probably the work of the painter Muhammad purely indigenous (Rajput) tradition to be properly
Afzal, who flourished in the seventeenth century. described as Indo-Persian. The four pictures here
The third picture represents three nuns making reproduced belong, broadly speaking, to the Rajput
offerings of flowers and water at a shrine of School. Most of them are purely Hindu in their
Mahadev in a wicker hut beside a tree. The trees appeal, and they show no trace of Persian or
in Indian pictures are particularly noteworthy Central Asian influence. The fourth (The Bride)
because they so seem to share the sentiment of the shows strong Kangra Valley influence, which is
work. In nearly all religious pictures they play an purely Hindu. The second (Golden Rain) might
important part, because the hermit's place of retreat perhaps as well be called Mughal as Rajput: it is
is generally in a grove or beneath a particular tree, really " Indian." All probably date from the
The mysterious soft effects of shadow are well seventeenth century, the latter part of it rather
suggested, and the conventional treatment is than the earlier. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy.
perfectly appropriate to the entire
composition. The sense of devo-
tional concentration is strangely
reminiscent of the earlier Italian
painters. We do not yet know how
much these may have owed to
Oriental influences.
The last picture, which loses per-
haps the most in monochrome repro-
duction, especially as regards the
pure gold over-dress of the nearest
figure, has been called The Bride.
There is a haunting charm in the re-
presentation of her gentle shyness,
as she is led by a friend to the bridal
chamber. A sleepy servant awaits
them with a torch and scent spray.
The torch light throws a deep
shadow behind the advancing figures.
The white marble buildings glisten
in the moonlight. The whole pic-
ture bears the spell of that strange
serenity and recollectedness that so
separate the old life in India from
the unrhythmic life of haste and
competition that is fast replacing it.
Perhaps it would not be possible to
over-value an art that brings to us
so clear a message of calm and peace
—a message from a time which we,
taking an external view, are apt to
regard as less peaceful and less
"civilised" than our own.
A few words may be said on ter-
minology. Hitherto it has been
usual to class all Indian paintings „ ,
r a "THE BRIDE. FROM AN INDIAN PICTURE (PROB. 17TH CENTURY)
as Indo-Persian, or even frankly as (In the Collection of G. N. Tagore,Esq.)
307
with fireworks, the third an attendant, standing on Persian. The term Indo-Persian, however, is only
a terrace, with a lake and low hills behind. The really applicable to the earlier Mughal style (late
sweet serene faces and exquisite dresses, lit up by sixteenth and early seventeenth century). The
the "golden rain," stand out against the dark later Mughal style (seventeenth and early eighteenth
background of the night. Though not signed, it is century) owes too much to Central Asian and to
probably the work of the painter Muhammad purely indigenous (Rajput) tradition to be properly
Afzal, who flourished in the seventeenth century. described as Indo-Persian. The four pictures here
The third picture represents three nuns making reproduced belong, broadly speaking, to the Rajput
offerings of flowers and water at a shrine of School. Most of them are purely Hindu in their
Mahadev in a wicker hut beside a tree. The trees appeal, and they show no trace of Persian or
in Indian pictures are particularly noteworthy Central Asian influence. The fourth (The Bride)
because they so seem to share the sentiment of the shows strong Kangra Valley influence, which is
work. In nearly all religious pictures they play an purely Hindu. The second (Golden Rain) might
important part, because the hermit's place of retreat perhaps as well be called Mughal as Rajput: it is
is generally in a grove or beneath a particular tree, really " Indian." All probably date from the
The mysterious soft effects of shadow are well seventeenth century, the latter part of it rather
suggested, and the conventional treatment is than the earlier. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy.
perfectly appropriate to the entire
composition. The sense of devo-
tional concentration is strangely
reminiscent of the earlier Italian
painters. We do not yet know how
much these may have owed to
Oriental influences.
The last picture, which loses per-
haps the most in monochrome repro-
duction, especially as regards the
pure gold over-dress of the nearest
figure, has been called The Bride.
There is a haunting charm in the re-
presentation of her gentle shyness,
as she is led by a friend to the bridal
chamber. A sleepy servant awaits
them with a torch and scent spray.
The torch light throws a deep
shadow behind the advancing figures.
The white marble buildings glisten
in the moonlight. The whole pic-
ture bears the spell of that strange
serenity and recollectedness that so
separate the old life in India from
the unrhythmic life of haste and
competition that is fast replacing it.
Perhaps it would not be possible to
over-value an art that brings to us
so clear a message of calm and peace
—a message from a time which we,
taking an external view, are apt to
regard as less peaceful and less
"civilised" than our own.
A few words may be said on ter-
minology. Hitherto it has been
usual to class all Indian paintings „ ,
r a "THE BRIDE. FROM AN INDIAN PICTURE (PROB. 17TH CENTURY)
as Indo-Persian, or even frankly as (In the Collection of G. N. Tagore,Esq.)
307