There is a remarkable painting of a lady just sitting in her house and
evidently gossiping with her friends. Scholars both male and female are shown reading from
manuscripts and reciting mantras from them. The sadhus were accepted as normal human
beings forming a segment of society, and were not considered as any special group or class
that demanded any special attention; in the paintings they are not extended any unusual
veneration. The artists have shown them on riverbanks or in huts or under trees seated in
meditation. They are also depicted in ordinary human pursuits like washing their clothes
after a bath or warming themselves in front of a fire. Yoginis or women yogis have also
been painted. The artists of the Devi mural have taken a great deal of interest in
presenting their thematic content in the context of nature. But while they presented
vegetal nature and the world of animals in a somewhat naturalistic manner, flowing water
like streams and rivers and hills were shown very conventionally.
Considerable attention has been given to the
drawing of architectural -details. The huts of the common people, the houses of the
relatively rich and the palaces of the Devi have all been painted with attention to
detail. The huts of the poor, for instance, are painted in mustard and brown to give the
effect of straw, the larger houses in red and white to produce the effect of standstone
and marble. The palaces of the Devi are provided with columns, turrets and towers that
were so common in Rajasthani palaces. There is one interesting technical point to note in
this painting, namely, the use of the design of cubes within cubes, evidently to create
the illusion of depth. |
