Udaipur is located in northwest India and looks back on a history marked by radical political changes. From around 1700 onwards, the city flourished and artists reoriented themselves. Instead of small-format book paintings, they produced large paintings with which they captured bhava (moods): particular states of mind and places they felt worthy of remembrance. Now, for the first time, an exhibition focuses on these works. A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. runs from 19 November to 14 May.
The show is accompanied by a soundscape by experimental filmmaker Amit Dutta (*1977 in Jammu, India), who was inspired by the paintings. More than 50 paintings and six photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries allow visitors to dive deep into the past. In the summer of 2023, the exhibition will move to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
