Britain’s most celebrated artist, Howard Hodgkin presented an exhibition of Indian paintings called ‘Visions of Mughal India’, from his exceptional private collection at National Museum Cardiff in Wales, UK.
The collection comprised of exceptional quality Indian court painting that flourished during the Mughal period: the poetic and subtly coloured paintings of the Deccani Sultanates; and the boldly drawn and vibrantly coloured styles of the Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills, including illustrations of epics and myths, royal portraits and many hunting scenes. There is also a large and outstanding group of elephant portraits and studies of the Mughal and Kota schools.
Some of the works in the collection vividly evoke the urban life of India, inspired from Hodgkin’s frequent visits to India, made over some 50 years. There is also great diversity in the pictures, some containing exciting passages or juxtapositions of colour, as can also be found in Hodgkin’s own work. But many others are lightly coloured brush drawings which show an expressive mastery of line.
