A Court Beauty
Chokha Indian
This remarkably bold painting of a courtesan from Udaipur is a witty visual play on the blinds used to shield balconies and interior spaces from the blistering rays of the Indian sun. Large in scale, it echoes in size the actual blinds and cusped arch framing devices of Rajput palace architecture. The painting was likely produced at the request of Maharaja Bhim Singh (r. 1778–1828), presumably to display in a room or balcony given over to receiving his courtesans. The young woman stretches her hands above her head in a gesture of longing; her large lotus-shaped eye, which draws on the Kishangarh style of portraiture, adds to her overt appeal. A child, presumably one of the maharaja’s many progeny, pulls at her shirt for attention. The painting is inscribed phutadya (“a beauty”).
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