Asit Kumar Halder, a twentieth-century Indian painter, was an influential member of the Bengal School of Art—a nationalist art movement established in Bengal, that prioritised Indian artistic practices instead of European art styles which had been previously promoted and prioritised in colonial India. Halder is also widely known for his documentation of the ancient Buddhist frescoes at the Ajanta caves in Madhya Pradesh, and his paintings were often inspired by these murals and frescoes as well as by elements from Rajput miniatures (a style of painting that developed in western India and flourished in the courts of Rajasthan between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries) and Pahari miniature (a term used to classify miniature paintings from the kingdoms of the Himalayan foothills in northern India). This artwork—which appears, at first glance, to be an Ajanta fresco—depicts Queen Prabhavati, daughter of Emperor Chandragupta II (reigned c. 380—415 CE), who was one of the most powerful rulers of the Gupta Empire in India, conducting the duties of the regency with her young son Divakara Sena on her lap. The artist brings out the intricate details of the courtly scene, rendering them with finesse and flourish.
Asit Kumar Haldar
Untitled
Water colour on handmade paper
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Asit Kumar Haldar
Untitled
Water colour on handmade paper
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