For a century—from 1605, the date of the earliest extant paintings from the Udaipur court, until around 1700—artists focused on small manuscript paintings. They conveyed the emotional resonance of sacred narratives and poetic verses through idealized forms and bold, saturated colors. In this folio from an illustrated Ramayana, the painter aroused wonder through fantastically imagined trees, a luscious palette, and the hero’s wide-armed gesture of amazed pleasure.
Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita in the Chitrakuta forest, folio from a Ramayana
Attributed to the Master of the Jagged Water’s Edge, ca. 1680–90
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Sheet, 25.4 × 40.5 cm
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection—funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries S2018.1.73
