Pahari paintings
Amélie Couvrat Desvergnes is a paper and book conservator and researcher. She studied and conserved for two years 134 Indian drawings and paintings from the Wereldmuseum Leiden. In this collection story she tells about the making process, and about ‘master drawings’ - examples for beautifull paintings which are in museum collections all over the world.
Bright colors, charcoal and squirrel hair brushes
The Wereldmuseum in Leiden has a fine collection of 134 drawings and paintings from the Punjab Hills (today Himachal Pradesh in India), commonly referred to as ‘Pahari miniature paintings’, and made from the 17th to the 19th century
The drawings and painting covers a wide range of themes like Hindu epics, vernacular poetry, portraits of rulers, and historical figures. They illustrate the history and traditions of the region and showcases Indian techniques and crafts.
A step-by-step progress
The development of a composition is illustrated by a series of drawings from the Ramayana epic made in Kangra around 1800 and now preserved in Wereldmuseum Leiden.
Curious about how these paintings and the “master drawings” in the collection are made? Then read on quickly.