Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, the Pahari kingdoms were sites of intense artistic activity between the 17th and 19th centuries; Hindu nobles commissioned local painters to create art for their royal collections. This exhibition of 23 works at the Cleveland Museum of Art includes not just painting but also textile works; highlights include a joyful painting of Krishna taking part in Holi, with coloured water arcing through the air (c. 1770); a fearsome depiction of a weapon-wielding goddess on a mountaintop (c. 1720); and double-sided embroideries known as rumal, made by Pahari women (18 January–13 September). All the works on display come from the collection of Catherine Benkaim, a leading scholar of Pahari painting, and her husband Ralph Benkaim, who died in 2001; exhibitions of different Pahari paintings from the same collection will soon be on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum (6 February–7 June) and the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. (18 April–26 July).
Find out more from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s website.
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