Answer: Greek mythology
Malwa School paintings depicted popular themes such as the Ramayana, Bhagvata Purana, Amaru Shataka, Rasikapriya, Ragamala, and Baramasa, among others, but does not include Greek mythology.
The Malwa School flourished between 1600 and 1700 CE and is most representative of the Hindu Rajput courts. Its two-dimensional simplistic language appears as a consummation of stylistic progression from the Jain manuscripts to the Chaurpanchashika manuscript paintings. Unlike the specificity of Rajasthani schools that emerged and flourished in precise territorial kingdoms and courts of their respective kings, Malwa School defies a precise centre for its origin and instead suggests a vast territory of Central India, where it got articulated with a sporadic mention of few places, such as Mandu, Nusratgarh and Narsyang Sahar. Among the few early dated sets are an illustrated poetic text of Amaru Shataka dated 1652 CE and a Ragamala painting by Madho Das in 1680 CE. A large number of Malwa paintings discovered from the Datia Palace collection supports a claim for Bundelkhand as the region of painting. But the mural paintings in the Datia Palace of Bundelkhand defy an obvious Mughal influence, which is contrary to the works on paper that are stylistically inclined towards indigenous two-dimensional austerity. A complete absence of the mention of patron kings and also portraits in this school supports a view that these paintings were bought by the Datia rulers from travelling artists, who carried paintings on popular themes, such as the Ramayana, Bhagvata Purana, Amaru Shataka, Rasikapriya, Ragamala and Baramasa, among others. |
