| Manaku | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Manaku by his brother Nainsukh | |
| Born | Manaku 1700 Guler |
| Died | 1760 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Pahari painting |
| Family | Nainsukh (brother) |
Manaku of Guler or Manaku (c. 1700–1760) was an Indian painter from the Guler State, in modern-day Himachal Pradesh. After his death he was mostly forgotten and overshadowed by his much-celebrated younger brother Nainsukh. But today he is recognised as an exponent of Pahari style of painting, much like his brother. The rediscovery of Manaku has been a result of research efforts by art historians like B. N. Goswamy. Like Nainsukh, Manaku almost never signed his works, and only four extant works carry his signature.
Gallery
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Ravana shows Sita the counterfeit head of Rama, c. 1725, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Poet Jayadeva worshipping Radha and Krishna based on Jayadeva's Gita Govinda, c. 1730, Watercolour on paper, National Museum, New Delhi
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Hiranyagarbha (Golden Cosmic Egg), c. 1740, Opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi
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Vishnu as Varaha challenges the demon Hiranyaksha from Bhagavata Purana series, c. 1740, Opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh
References
- Goswamy & Fischer 1997, p. 240
- Goswamy 2017, p. 18
- Goswamy 2017, p. 26
- "Historian B.N Goswamy brings alive 18th century artist Manaku". September 14, 2017 – via Business Standard.
- "An Uphill Task". September 25, 2017.
- Gupta, Gargi (October 15, 2017). "Book Review: Manaku of Guler – The Life and Work of Another Great Indian Painter from a Small Hill State". DNA India.
Bibliography
- Goswamy, B. N.; Fischer, Eberhard (1997). Pahari Masters: Court Painters of Northern India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195640144.
- Goswamy, B. N. (2014). The Spirit of Indian Painting: Close Encounters with 100 Great Works 1100–1900. Penguin UK. ISBN 9789351188629.
- Goswamy, B. N. (2017). Manaku of Guler: The Life and Work of Another Great Indian Painter from a Small Hill State. New Delhi: Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-9385285820.
External links
- Smart, Ellen S. (May 22, 1998). "Pahari Masters: Court Painters of North India. By B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997. 391 pp. $95.00 (paper)". The Journal of Asian Studies. 57 (2): 565–566. doi:10.2307/2658899. JSTOR 2658899. S2CID 165258122 – via Cambridge Core.