Ask the Scholar

The artist is almost certainly Chokha, the son of the equally talented Bagata, who flourished during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Both worked in the ancient state of Mewar, better know at this time as Udaipur and famous today for its romantic pleasure palace and hotel in the middle of a lake. Few pictures capture the amorous mood with such aesthetic aplomb as this masterpiece. If the lover is Prince Amar Singh of Udaipur, as has been suggested, then the terrace on which they cavort may be the palace on the lake, with hazy, blue-green waters beyond the balustrade and the hint of a monsoon sky above. The picture is a brilliant synthesis of abstract symbolism and concrete physicality. The languidly entwined bodies of the lovers express longing only with their eyes, even while the hot colors of the profligately strewn cushions reflect their burning desire.