MINIATURE ART

The size of miniature paintings never ceases to amaze the eye. Having originated from Buddhist texts dating back to the 10th century, the miniature is a small canvas dense with intricate detail and vivid colours embellished in burnished (often 24 karat) gold and sparkling silver.

The art of Miniature painting has since evolved into the classical depictions that we see today, thanks to the Persian influences of the Safavid school brought to the subcontinent by the Mughals.

By the time Jaipur was born, miniature painters had become chroniclers of life, especially in the royal courts and palaces, documenting the royalty’s deeds as hunters, conquerors and rulers.

On this trail, we meet and witness award-winning miniature artists, part of a dwindling tribe, laboriously reproduce large cinematic scenes in a single canvas with little more than a fine squirrel brush and natural dyes.