however,
which gives the pictures their special Garhwal quality. The play of water
evokes a melody of line and the result is a sense of upsurging joy. A
similar religious exaltation marks other pictures by this master. At some
time he appears to have been commissioned to illustrate the tale of Sudama
the poor Brahman whose tattered hovel is changed by Krishna into a golden
palace. He was evidently assisted by a weaker painter but in the pictures
which are clearly his own work, the same quality of lyrical incantation
appears. As Sudama journeys to Dwarka Krishna's golden city, his heart
swoons with adoration, the hills, trees and ocean appear to dance about
him and once again, the linear music of the composition engenders a
feeling of supreme ecstasy.[109] We do not know which member of the Garhwal
court acted as his patron--it is even possible that it was not the ruler
himself but his consort, the Guler princess whom he had married in about
the year 1770. What, at any rate, is clear is that at least one lively
adorer of Krishna existed at the Garhwal court and that until the Gurkha
invasions of 1803, there were other painters, besides the master-artist,
who were similarly encouraged to interpret the Krishna theme.[110] Their
style was clearly influenced by that of the master but in their use of
slender leafless branches and towering spikes of blossom, they developed a
special Garhwal imagery designed to suggest the slender beauty of
love-enchanted girls. After the expulsion of the Gurkhas in 1816, a new
Raja revived Garhwal painting. Krishna the lover was once again portrayed
and until the middle of the nineteenth century, pictures continued to be
produced blending the delights of courtly passion with adoration of God.

It was in the state of Kangra, however, that the greatest developments
occurred. In 1775, the young Sansar Chand became Raja, and despite his
extreme youth, quickly acquired mastery of the Kangra court. It is
unlikely that artists were immediately summoned, but certainly by 1780 a
flourishing school of painters had come into existence.[111] As at Garhwal,
the artists of Kangra came originally from Guler and thus a similar
phenomenon arises--the Guler manner providing the basis for yet a second
great style. Sansar Chand was obviously quite exceptional, for not only
was he successful in politics and war, but from his early manhood was
devoted to Krishna as lover god. And it is this all-absorbing interest
w