In the City

When artists switched, around 1700, from small paintings of poetic subjects to large paintings of Udaipur, they took on as subject the mood of the city itself. These paintings are notably inclusive, integrating the perspectives and experiences of city dwellers as well as of courtiers.This painter conveyed the atmosphere of the Gangaur festival as it developed over hours across the city. In the foreground, it is daytime. To honor the goddess Gauri, women throng Udaipur’s brightly lit streets, some bearing small images of the goddess to immerse in the lake. The distant city is dusky. At upper right, a group of townsmen fling themselves into the darkness away from a blazing firework, their backs lit up by its glow. Gold fireworks explode, leaving smoky trails in the sky and casting golden ripples on the lake’s surface.