Can We Stop Calling South Asian Painting "Miniature"?
A book on 18th-century Pahari painting warns against thinking of these works as “miniatures,” a Western term, instead illuminating the artistic collaboration and ways of life at their heart.
The 1760 painting "Taking of the toll (Dana-Lila)" depicts Hindu goddess Radha capturing Krishna for stealing toll money from his gopis, or maiden companions. While scholars believe the work shares similarities with two other paintings created from a workshop model, the painting's origin place remains uncertain. Formal analysis suggests the piece likely originated in the 18th-century kingdom of Chamba, which was home to 16 established artist families.
Chamba, along with Kangra, Nurpur, and other regions in present-day Himachal Pradesh, forms the Pahari region. Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories (2026), a new catalog based on works amassed by scholar Catherine Glynn Benkaim, includes reproductions and comprehensive analytical entries. Unlike Rajput painting from Hindu Rajasthani courts or Mughal Indo-Persian manuscript illumination, Pahari painting frequently emphasized the loving relationship between Radha and Krishna.
Art historians note that Pahari artists, such as court artist Sajnu, moved frequently between established kingdoms in the Western Himalayas. Sajnu and other workshop artists, like in the Mahavidya folio from circa 1800, blended styles from Kangra and Mandi, resulting in more pronounced features and jaunty expressions in their depictions of gods.
In rare cases, artists traveled outside their home states, with Purkhu working for Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore after leaving his Kangra workshop.
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