Description

Kangra painting is the pictorial art of Kangra. It named after Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, a former princely state, which patronized the art. It became prevalent with the fading of the Basohli school of painting in the mid-18th century. Soon it produced such a magnitude in paintings both in content and volume, that the Pahari painting school, came to be known as Kangra paintings.

Kangra Painting depicts the verdant greenery and the feminine charm in a very graceful manner. Facial features are soft and refined. The female figures are exceptionally beautiful. Later Kangra paintings also depicted nocturnal scenes and storms and lightning. Painting in the Kangra Valley is an attempt to survey the painting styles of Guler and Kangra.

The painting activity began with Kashmiri painters, who started receiving royal patronage during the reign of Raja Dalip Singh (1695−1741) of Guler. But it attained culmination during the long reign of Maharaja Sansar Chand (1776−1823) of Kangra.