Rajasthani Painters: Bagta and Choka - Master Artists at Devgarh (Artibus Asiae) - Tapa dura

This is an illuminating study exemplifying the authors' claim that the most innovative styles emerged not in the large courts located in the cities that ruled the region but in the hinterlands, where less strict patron expectations allowed for more experimentation. The volume closes with copious notes, an annotated list of illustrations, a genealogical chart of the ravats, and a supporting bibliography for further reading.

"This is a study centered on two artists within one family, but it has also explored a network of patronage among the successive rulers of one small territory subordinate to a major ruling house. It has led us to explore new, previously unrecognized centers of painting (Karera and Gyangarh, for example) and to realize that most powerful ruling courts did not necessarily provide the most informed, or the most productive, patronage. Paintings made for the Chundawats of Devgarh are for more interesting and innovative than the works made contemporaneously in Udaipur. But it is now clear that , even within one family of patrons, tastes can be quite distinct, as can the stylistic affiliations of the artists that various family members employed. It seems clear that Rajasthani painting will richly reward further attention." -- From the Afterword