Rajasthan's naturalism school of Rajput painting was headed
toward sure extinction, a rare art form that only museum
exhibits and fancy art books would offer frozen memories of. But
today, a small band of super talents are reviving the classic
style, mastering the steady stroke of the squirrel hair
brush/pen and making pigments out of gold and lapis lazuli. The
Rajput painting school emerged in the 16th century, parented by
invading Muslim sultans who imprinted it with their love of
delicate Persian motif, sinuous line and intricate floral
design. But gradually the style Indianized as Hindu rajas set up
their own court painting studios with Hindu artists trained by
Mughal masters. The themes were both religious and secular-
Krishna bathing with the gopis by moonlight, rajas in their
opulent courts and pastoral village scenes. But today's breed of
Rajput painters enjoy a freer and more cosmopolitan variety of
subjects. A recent exhibition of six young Rajput painters at
the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documenta