Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas

Attributed to Golu, son of Devidasa, Shiva and Parvati on a tiger skin; folio from the “Third” Rasamanjari, circa 1720–1715, India; Himachal Pradesh, Nurpur, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art, S2018.1.13

Featuring more than forty works of art, Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas displays colorful court paintings from present-day India dating between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. These small, portable paintings were produced for royal and noble patronage by artists practicing unique artistic techniques. Influenced by the region’s culture and politics, they portray moments of leisure, religious devotion, and political positioning, and were given as gifts between regional nobility, families, and political allies. Many paintings portray devotional acts meant to connect with the divine; others depict individuals and couples who yearn for romantic dalliance; still others portray rulers and noblemen who longed to be at the center of political control.

Organized around the theme of “longing,” the exhibition encourages visitors to experience art as multisensorial. Select paintings are paired with olfactory stations, touch opportunities, and musical soundscapes to heighten the work’s bhava (emotion or mood) and to encourage multiple ways to physically, intellectually, and emotionally connect with art.