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Paintings Rajasthani miniatures unabashedly celebrate every aspect of life. The paintings are a rich reminder of how both the regal Mughals and the proud Rajputs lived life in bold Technicolor.
An Exquisite Blend of Mughal and Indigenous Indian Styles
A host of schools of miniature painting thrive in Rajasthan and, to a certain extent, they are a quaint mixture of Mughal and indigenous Indian styles. The Indian style dates back to the Jain manuscripts of western India, now preserved in the temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat. These manuscripts are inscribed on palm leaves and are illustrated with stylized miniatures, elements of which are obvious in the miniatures of today. If you examine these miniatures from the 11th century, you’ll find that the human forms are far from proportionate as the figures were squeezed in to fit the long, narrow format of the leaves. Fortunately with the coming of paper in the 12th century (thanks to the Arab traders), the miniatures were freed from this constraint.
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