Kangra Art - Paintings of Delicate, Divine Devotional Love

An unexpected side benefit of visiting Dharamshala has been my introduction to Kangra Art. You may be familiar with the famous miniature paintings that were produced in the Rajasthan area during the time of the Mughal rulers. Artists of that genre fled to northern India and inspired by the Himalaya mountains and nature developed their own art style focussing on themes of devotional love such as the pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

Kangra Art- The Divine Couple -Radha Krishna 

To order and see more please visit : Sacred Art of Nepal

The former local raja of this area Raja Sansar Chand Katoch (discussed in the last post) encouraged and supported this art form in this area of Himachal Pradesh from 1765 to 1823. The art is still kept alive today.

All natural minerals such as cinnabar (pictured below) are ground to a powder and mixed with gum arabic to make paint. Tiny brushes made of squirrel hair are used to create the delicate and evocative paintings. 22 carat gold is used for accents.

The speciality of Kangra Art is the graceful depictions of the female subject. The beauty and devotional qualities of womanhood are especially evoked in Kangra Art.

Radha Collecting Blossoms For Krishna's Garland 
To order and see more please visit : Sacred Art of Nepal

I had the pleasure to meet the first ever women Kangra artists at the Kangra Co-Operative Studio in Dharamshala. I formed a relationship with these gals and will be making their art available at reasonable prices.

This is Ritu Dhiman. She has been creating Kangra Art for 5 years in addition to being a young wife and mother.
To order her art and see more please visit : Sacred Art of Nepal

This is Poonam Katoch (yes descendent of the royal family). She has been creating Kandra Art for 10 years and sees it as her life-long career
To order her art and see more please visit : Sacred Art of Nepal