A Portrait of my Husband

A Portrait of my Husband

In this portrait of my husband, I wanted to do a master study of the works of Nainsukh, an Indian miniature painter active in the 18th century. My focus was particularly drawn to his depiction of Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota.


I encountered Nainsukh's work for the first time in Amit Dutta's 2010 film, in which several film stills were directly inspired by his paintings. 

I wanted to study his compositional strategies to understand how his paintings were so evocative despite using a muted color palette. Until now, I had hesitated to incorporate light colors in my work, fearing they would diminish the dramatic impact.

The artist was a significant influence on the development of Pahari painting. Through his integration of Mughal artistic elements, Nainsukh played a pivotal role in transforming a tradition that was predominantly focused on Hindu religious themes.

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