PHOTO GALLARY OF BASOHLI PAINTINGS

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THE BASOHLI KALAM

A BRIEF NOTE ON BASOHLI PAINTINGS

 

About  80  km.  away from the  district  headquarters  of Kathua, nestling  among  the  low lying hills,  stands  a  quaint little settlement,  its withered magnificence a mute testimony to the glory it must have been in its heydey. Yet, the  fortress town of Basohli, perched magnificently atop  a low hill  at  the edge of a verdant wood has left a mark  on  the cultural horizon of India. Immortalised by its artistic eminences and their  connoisseur patrons, Basohli today is a metaphor for a vigorous,  bold and imaginative artistic style, rich, stylish and unconventional.

 

A  style  of  painting characterized by vigorous  use  of primary colours  and  a peculiar facial formula prevailed in  the seventeenth  and  early eighteenth centuries in the foothills  of  the Western  Himalayas  in  the  Jammu  and  Punjab  States.  The earliest paintings in this style originated in Basohli from where the style  spread  to  the Hill States of Mankot,  Nurpur,  Kulu, Mandi, Suket,  Bilaspur, Nalagarh, Chamba, Guler and Kangra.  The first mention  of Basohli painting is in the annual report of the Archaeological  Survey of India for the year 1918-19 published in 1921. Referring  to the acquisitions of the Archaelogical Section of the Central  Museum, Lahore, the report states that "a  series of old paintings  of  the Basohli School were purchased, and  the Curator concludes  that  the  Basohli   Schools  is  possibly  of pre-Moghul  origin, and so called Tibeti pictures are nothing but late productions of this school".

 

 A  large  number  of  paintings with  deep  red  borders painted in  a  simple  and  bold style in yellow,  blue  and  red colours were  finding  their  way  to   the  picture  markets  of Amritsar.