Indian Art Prints

Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906) was an Indian painter from Kilimanoor in present-day Kerala, widely regarded as the father of modern Indian painting. He was the first to depict Hindu gods and scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata in the European academic realist style, and the printing press he founded made affordable lithographs of those images — which is how much of India has pictured its deities ever since.

A Mughal miniature is a small painting worked in fine detail, produced in the imperial workshops of the Mughal Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries. The style blended Persian, Indian and European influence, illustrating manuscripts and albums with court scenes, portraits, hunts and battles in mineral pigments and gold. It reached its height under the emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

A Ragamala painting — literally a 'garland of ragas' — gives visual form to a melodic mode of Indian classical music. Each one personifies a raga through a season, a time of day, a mood and often a romantic or devotional scene, so that music, poetry and image describe the same feeling at once. They were painted across the Rajput, Pahari and Deccan schools from roughly the 16th to the 18th centuries.

Tanjore, or Thanjavur, painting is a classical South Indian style that began in the town of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu around the 16th century. It is known for rich colour, raised gesso relief, and the gold foil and inlaid stones that catch the light, usually on images of Hindu gods — Krishna above all — painted on wooden panels. The gold and the relief give the work its depth and glow.

The objects a deity holds are a visual language that tells you who they are and what they govern. Vishnu's conch stands for the primordial sound of creation and his discus for cosmic order; Shiva's trident marks the three forces of creation, preservation and dissolution; Saraswati's veena and book signify music and learning. Multiple arms let a figure hold several of these at once — powers held together rather than in turn.

Yes, and they carry meaning few gifts do. A print of a deity, a Ragamala scene or a Tanjore-style image makes a considered gift for weddings, housewarmings and festivals such as Diwali, when images of Lakshmi and Ganesha are traditionally welcomed into a home. A subject tied to the person — their family deity, the region they come from — makes it more personal still.