Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar

Maharana Bhim Singh (1768, r.1778-1828) of Mewar
seated under a ganga-jamani canopy

by Chokha (at Mewar court)
dated 1798 CE

Gouache on paper
14.1 x 10.5 in. (35.8 x 26.7 cm.)

Front: “Shri Shri Maharanaji Shri Bhim Singhji ganga-jamani chhildari me
birajya chataro Chokho bakhtavat, sa. 1854”
Back: “Shri Shri Maharanaji Shri Bhim Singhji ganga-jamani chhildari me
birajya chataro Chokho”

Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar, the 67th custodian of the house of Mewar was a great patron of the art of painting and evidently commissioned a large amount of some of the best works (qualitative and quantitative) produced in Mewar.

Bhim Singh’s zenana depictions are elaborate, usually inclusive of a number of female figures bustling about the surrounding. His ‘higher than a normal human’ stature is rendered by a large nimbus around his face, his golden outfits and bejewelled pearl and gold ornaments and a zigzag patterned golden-silver canopy (often called as ganga-jamani childari). Arched frame along the edges of the composition followed by a finely carved jali adds to the overall grandeur.

This work appears to be done in collaboration by Chokha and Baijnath.