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ARTS
PAINTINGS
A GIANT AMONG
MINIATURE PAINTERS
BIKANER-BASED MAHAVEER SWAMI’S
EXQUISITE BRUSHWORK COMBINED
WITH A UNIQUE INNER VISION HAS
MADE HIM ONE OF INDIA’S FINEST
TRADITIONAL ARTISTS
NO DISCUSSION ON INDIAN MINIATURE
painting can be complete without
mentioning Mahaveer Swami. The
Bikaner, Rajasthan resident may be softspoken
and self-effacing but his fame has
transcended state boundaries and he is
now even a big name abroad. His shows in
Korea and France were big hits and he is
just back from a successful show in the
United States.
Swami has descended from a family
of talented miniature painters. He
learned the ropes from his father MR
Swami and grandfather MD Swami. To
Mahaveer Swami goes the credit of
reviving the best aspects of the Bikaner
School of painting.
He stands out among thousands of
traditional painters not only because of
his great skills in drawing and painting
but also because he has an ability to
recognize the difference between the
truly fine and mundane. He prefers to
explore new subjects, new contexts and
new forms of expressions but admits to
being partial to religious and spiritual
themes.
Swami’s style has been strongly
influenced by his studies of Mughal and
Rajasthani miniatures. His subject
matter is often drawn from the lifestyle of
holy men and women, daily life of Indian
women and sometimes from Hindu
mythological terms. His paintings of
ascetics and mystics are particularly
striking because of his deep feelings for
the spiritual and the emotional. As a child,
the various holy men who visited his
grandfather fascinated him.
One of the finest traditional artists
working in India today, his ethereal
colours and exquisite brushwork are
combined with a unique inner vision. His
work demonstrates beyond a doubt that a
rich and beautiful tradition is still very
much alive.
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NOVEMBER 2017