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Ramji (painter)

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Ramji DasChitera
Painting of the artist Ramji Das, ca.1780
StyleJaipur School

Ramji (fl. 1755–1785), also known as Ramji Das, was a painter based in Jaipur State. He specialized in portrait-painting and was active during the reign of Maharaja Prithvi Singh II (r. 1768–1785). He painted in a style which is now known as the Jaipur School. Some of his works depict officials that belonged to the court of the maharaja, without discriminating based on rank or status, even depicting courtesans (kalawants) or performers (bhaktans). Ramji had a group of followers, with another painter named Govinda painted in a similar style to Ramji.

Ramji first appears on record in the early 1760's, with his salary being increased from 6 to 10 rupees in 1762. He was one of the two most-renowned artists of the Jaipur court, alongside Sahibram. Originally from Jaipur, at one point Ramji was sent to work at Jaiselmer.

Surviving works

Some of his surviving works are kept in the collection of the Jaipur Museum and the personal collection of Kumar Sangram Singh. 81 paintings inscribed with Ramji's name can be found in the collection of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum whilst a further 200 in other collections can be traced to him. Much of the surviving works are khakhas (smaller sketches or drafts for larger paintings), monochromatic drawings, tinted-line drawings, or coloured figure studies. Many of the works were created with single-layered, hand-made, burnished paper whilst others are coloured paintings on vasli.

Notes

  1. His name is appended with the suffix with 'Chatera' or 'Chitera'.

Gallery

  • Painting of Raja Badan Singh of Bharatpur State holding hands with Bala Krishna, with prince Jawahar Singh behind him, from an illustrated 'Sujan Charitra' series, by Ramji, Jaipur School, circa mid-to-late 18th century Painting of Raja Badan Singh of Bharatpur State holding hands with Bala Krishna, with prince Jawahar Singh behind him, from an illustrated 'Sujan Charitra' series, by Ramji, Jaipur School, circa mid-to-late 18th century
  • Painting of Pandit Jagannath, by Ramji, ca.1780 Painting of Pandit Jagannath, by Ramji, ca.1780

Further reading

  • Das, Ashok Kumar (1981). Srivastava, Vijai Shankar (ed.). "Ramjidas Chatera: An Eighteenth-Century Portrait Painter from Jaipur". Cultural Contours of India. New Delhi: Abhinav: 318.

References

  1. Arts of Mughal India: Studies in Honour of Robert Skelton. Rosemary Crill, Andrew Topsfield, Susan Stronge. Victoria & Albert Museum. 2004. p. 262. ISBN 9781890206710.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ Singh, Citralekha (1993). Drawings of Rajasthan. Aryan Books International. p. 37. ISBN 9788173050091.
  3. ^ Schofield, Katherine Butler (Nov 8, 2023). Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748–1858. Cambridge University Press. p. 163. ISBN 9781009058605.
  4. Sharma, Lokesh Chandra (2008). A Brief History of Indian Painting (13th ed.). Goel Publishing House. pp. 82–85.
  5. ^ Soni, Sonika (2016). "Portraiture: Sahibram, Ramji Das and Followers". In Tillotson, Giles; Venkateswaran, Mrinalini (eds.). Painting & Photography at the Jaipur Court. Niyogi Books. pp. 20–22. ISBN 9789385285240.
  6. Aitken, Molly Emma (2010). The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting. Yale University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780300142297.