"Indian Skies: The Howard Hodgkin Collection of Indian Court Painting," February 6–June 9, 2024.
The Disrobing of Draupadi (c. 1760–1765), which is credited to the artist Nainsukh, is a major painting from the 18th-century Indian court painting tradition. Using gold and opaque watercolor on paper, this painting is featured in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as it illustrates the episode of Draupadi Vastraharan, which is the most distressing episode of the ancient Indian epic called Mahabharata. The story is taking place in the Kuru court after Yudhishthira lost in the game of dice against the Kauravas. Dushasana tries to disgrace Draupadi by pulling her sari with intent. Sensing the reality of human intervention not being enough, Draupadi turns to divine help. Lord Krishna appears to help Draupadi by making an unending stream of clothes cover her body. Nainsukh uses tension in his painting composition. While Dushasana is pulling the fabric; the cloth is seen piling around Draupadi's feet. The defeated Pandava princes can be seen on one side of the picture in despair. Bhima is trying to get a weapon to take revenge, but Yudhishthira is stopping him. The Kaurava elders are witnessing the scene supervised by the blind king Dhritarashtra without saying a word.
Nainsukh has created a shift in Pahari miniatures by introducing a realistic approach as well as psychological insight in contrast to the rigid and formal traditions seen in the Basohli school. In The Disrobing of Draupadi, he demonstrates his unique approach in several aspects. Unlike in earlier forms of the art when anonymous figures were portrayed, here Nainsukh presents individual expressions of people shown in the painting. The paintings shows a priest on the one hand, who is blind to injustice, and Dushasana acting in rage, as well as the helplessness of the Pandava brothers. The use of buildings and the arrangement of the composition allows having a clear perception of the events taking place without being disturbed. He uses soft washes of colour with carefully measured amounts of gilding, with the help of which he stresses the meaning of the painting and evokes the necessary feelings.
The Disrobing of Draupadi can be regarded as a classic example of story-telling painting which turns an epic story of a cosmic dimension into a story on human level with its disempowerment, faith, and divine help.
The "Disrobing of Draupadi" was an important episode in the Mahabharata. The scene has been intricately depicted in this painting by Nainsukh. The painting shows how the 'wise men' of the Kuru court are deliberately silent. The painting shows how Draupadi was humiliated in front of her own husbands and the other men by Dushasana. Dushasana is seen here frantically trying to take off Draupadi's sari but is unable to do so. The pile of clothes lying around them portrays the divine intervention of Lord Krishna. The characters in the painting are identified by small inscriptions in the painting in the local Takri script.
