Ramji (painter)
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Ramji Das Chitera | |
|---|---|
 Painting of the artist Ramji Das, ca.1780 | |
| Style | Jaipur School |
Ramji (fl. 1755–1785[1]), also known as Ramji Das, was a painter based in Jaipur State. He specialized in portrait-painting and was active during the reigns of Madho Singh I and Prithvi Singh II (r. 1768–1785).[note 1][2][3][4] He painted in a style which is now known as the Jaipur School.[5] Some of his works depict officials that belonged to the court of the maharaja, without discriminating based on rank or status, even depicting courtesans (kalawants) or performers (bhaktans).[3][6] Ramji had a group of followers, with another painter named Govinda painted in a similar style to Ramji.[6][2]
Ramji first appears on record in the early 1760's, with his salary being increased from 6 to 10 rupees in 1762.[6] He was one of the two most-renowned artists of the Jaipur court, alongside Sahibram.[6] Originally from Jaipur, at one point Ramji was sent to work at Jaiselmer.[7]
Some of his surviving works are kept in the collection of the Jaipur Museum and the personal collection of Kumar Sangram Singh.[2] 81 paintings inscribed with Ramji's name can be found in the collection of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum whilst a further 200 in other collections can be traced to him.[6] Much of the surviving works are khakhas (smaller sketches or drafts for larger paintings), monochromatic drawings, tinted-line drawings, or coloured figure studies.[6] Many of the works were created with single-layered, hand-made, burnished paper whilst others are coloured paintings on vasli.[6]
