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PUNJAB WIKIਪੰਜਾਬپنجابMuseum
Punjab WikiMuseumPainting
The Kangra Gita Govinda
attributed to Purkhu · Public domain · Wikimedia
Painting

The Kangra Gita Govinda

A series of paintings of Jayadeva's love poem of Radha and Krishna, made by the painters of the family of Nainsukh and Manaku in the years when Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra was their great patron.

Set among the green hills and rivers of the Kangra valley, the Gita Govinda and the Bhagavata Purana paintings of the same years are counted among the masterpieces of Indian art. After Kangra came under Lahore in 1809, many of the same painters worked for Sikh patrons.

Gallery

8 works
Radha imagines Krishna with other women, from Gita Govinda, attributed to Purkhu
Radha imagines Krishna with other women, from Gita Govinda, attributed to Purkhuattributed to Purkhu · Public domain
Brooklyn Museum - Krishna Gazes Longingly at Radha Page from the "Lumbagraon Gita Govinda" Series
Brooklyn Museum - Krishna Gazes Longingly at Radha Page from the "Lumbagraon Gita Govinda" SeriesUnknown authorUnknown author · No restrictions
Krishna flirting with the Gopis, to Radha's sorrow - Kangra Painting
Krishna flirting with the Gopis, to Radha's sorrow - Kangra PaintingPurkhu of Kangra · Public domain
Krishna with Gopis, 19th century CE, Kangra School of Art, Himachal State Museum, Shimla
Krishna with Gopis, 19th century CE, Kangra School of Art, Himachal State Museum, ShimlaSpeakingArch · CC BY-SA 4.0
Companion Persuading Radha as Krishna Flutes, Folio from the 'Lambagraon' Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) L
Companion Persuading Radha as Krishna Flutes, Folio from the 'Lambagraon' Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) Lanonymous · Public domain
India, Pahari Hills, Kangra School, Lambagraon series, 19th century - Krishna's Longing for Radha, from the Gi
India, Pahari Hills, Kangra School, Lambagraon series, 19th century - Krishna's Longing for Radha, from the Gianonymous · CC0
India, Pahari Hills, Kangra school, Lambagraon series, 19th century - Sakhi Persuades Radha to Meet Krishna, f
India, Pahari Hills, Kangra school, Lambagraon series, 19th century - Sakhi Persuades Radha to Meet Krishna, fanonymous · CC0
Radha and Krishna Walking at Night, folio from the Tehri Garhwal series of the Gita Govinda
Radha and Krishna Walking at Night, folio from the Tehri Garhwal series of the Gita GovindaMember of the first generation after Nainsukh · Public domain

Pictures from Wikimedia Commons; select one to see it full size with its credit.

More painting

The Court of Lahore
The Court of Lahorec. 1850 – 1855

August Schoefft's huge painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's court, with dozens of identifiable nobles, generals and European officers, painted from sketches made in Lahore in 1841.

Pahari painting at the Sikh courts
Pahari painting at the Sikh courtsc. 1800 – 1850

When Ranjit Singh took Kangra in 1809, painters from the hill courts of Guler and Kangra came to work for Sikh patrons, painting portraits of the Gurus and the Lahore nobility.

Portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singhc. 1820 – 1840

The Maharaja was painted on horseback, at the Golden Temple, and in miniatures sold to travellers; Emily Eden sketched him at his meeting with the Governor-General in 1838.

Winterhalter's Maharaja Duleep Singh
Winterhalter's Maharaja Duleep Singh1854

Queen Victoria commissioned Franz Xaver Winterhalter to paint the deposed fifteen-year-old Maharaja in jewelled Sikh dress, with a miniature of the Queen pinned to his chest.

The frescoes of the Golden Temple
The frescoes of the Golden Temple19th century

The inner walls of the Harmandir Sahib are covered in painted flowers, vines and animals, with gilded gesso and mirror work, the work of Sikh artist families such as Bhai Kehar Singh and Bhai Gian Singh Naqqash.

Central Sikh Museum
Central Sikh MuseumFounded 1958

The museum inside the Golden Temple complex, with paintings of the Gurus and martyrs, portraits of the shaheeds of the 20th century, old weapons, coins and manuscripts.

The paintings of Nainsukh of Guler
The paintings of Nainsukh of Gulerc. 1740 – 1778

Intimate pictures of the life of Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota by the greatest of the Pahari painters.

Basohli painting
Basohli paintingc. 1660 – 1730

Bold, hot-coloured paintings from the small hill state of Basohli, with flat red and yellow grounds, wide-eyed figures and the shining green of beetle wings set into the jewellery.

The Akbarnama painted at Lahore
The Akbarnama painted at Lahorec. 1590 – 1595

The illustrated history of Akbar's reign, painted in the imperial workshop while the court was at Lahore, the Mughal capital from 1585 to 1598.

Pictures of Punjabi trades and people
Pictures of Punjabi trades and peoplec. 1850 – 1880

After annexation, painters of Lahore and Amritsar such as Kehar Singh and Kapur Singh painted the people of the bazaar for British buyers: the potter, the dyer, the water-carrier, the Nihang and the fakir.

Emily Eden's Princes and People of India
Emily Eden's Princes and People of India1838 – 1844

Drawings made by the Governor-General's sister when she visited Ranjit Singh's court in 1838, published as lithographs: the Maharaja, his courtiers, his horses and his Akali guards.

The paintings of Ustad Allah Bux20th century

A Lahore painter of village life, Punjabi legends and Hindu myth, who began painting signs and theatre scenery and became one of the best-loved artists of Pakistan.

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