https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Ramji_%28painter%29Ramji (painter) - Revision history2026-08-20T10:47:58ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramji_(painter)&diff=529321&oldid=prevJoydeb Sarkar2003: put up...2025-04-11T23:11:17Z<p>put up...</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Painter (fl. 1755–1785)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2025}}<br />
{{Infobox artist<br />
| name = Ramji Das<br />
| honorific_suffix = Chitera<br />
| image = Painting of the artist Ramji Das, ca.1780.png<br />
| caption = Painting of the artist Ramji Das, ca.1780<br />
| style = Jaipur School<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Ramji''' ([[Floruit|fl.]] 1755–1785<ref>{{Cite book |title=Arts of Mughal India: Studies in Honour of Robert Skelton |publisher=Victoria & Albert Museum |others=Rosemary Crill, Andrew Topsfield, Susan Stronge |year=2004 |isbn=9781890206710 |pages=262}}</ref>), also known as '''Ramji Das''', was a painter based in [[Kingdom of Amber|Jaipur State]]. He specialized in portrait-painting and was active during the reigns of [[Madho Singh I]] and [[Prithvi Singh II]] (r. 1768–1785).{{Efn|His name is appended with the suffix with 'Chatera' or 'Chitera'.|group=note}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Citralekha |title=Drawings of Rajasthan |publisher=Aryan Books International |year=1993 |isbn=9788173050091 |pages=37}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Schofield |first=Katherine Butler |title=Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748–1858 |date=8 Nov 2023 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781009058605 |pages=163}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Perry |first=Hannah |date=September 2022 |title=A PORTRAIT OF MADHO SINGH I: Lot Essay |url=https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/indian-himalayan-art-online-john-c-susan-l-huntington-collection/portrait-madho-singh-i-90/161226 |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=Christie's}}</ref> He painted in a style which is now known as the Jaipur School.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Lokesh Chandra |title=A Brief History of Indian Painting |publisher=Goel Publishing House |year=2008 |edition=13th |pages=82–85}}</ref> 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'').<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Soni |first=Sonika |title=Painting & Photography at the Jaipur Court |publisher=Niyogi Books |year=2016 |isbn=9789385285240 |editor-last=Tillotson |editor-first=Giles |pages=20–22 |chapter=Portraiture: Sahibram, Ramji Das and Followers |editor-last2=Venkateswaran |editor-first2=Mrinalini}}</ref> Ramji had a group of followers, with another painter named Govinda painted in a similar style to Ramji.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><br />
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Ramji first appears on record in the early 1760's, with his salary being increased from 6 to 10 rupees in 1762.<ref name=":2" /> He was one of the two most-renowned artists of the Jaipur court, alongside Sahibram.<ref name=":2" /> Originally from Jaipur, at one point Ramji was sent to work at Jaiselmer.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aitken |first=Molly Emma |title=The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780300142297 |pages=49}}</ref><br />
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== Surviving works ==<br />
Some of his surviving works are kept in the collection of the [[Albert Hall Museum|Jaipur Museum]] and the personal collection of Kumar Sangram Singh.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /> Much of the surviving works are ''khakhas'' (smaller sketches or drafts for larger paintings), monochromatic drawings, tinted-line drawings, or coloured figure studies.<ref name=":2" /> Many of the works were created with single-layered, hand-made, burnished paper whilst others are coloured paintings on vasli.<ref name=":2" /><br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{Reflist|group=note}}<br />
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== Gallery ==<br />
<gallery><br />
File:Painting of Raja Badan Singh of Bharatpur State holding hands with Bala Krishna, with prince Jawahar Singh behind him, from an illustrated 'Sujan Charitra' series, by Ramji, Jaipur School, circa mid-to-late 18th century.jpg|Painting of Raja Badan Singh of Bharatpur State holding hands with Bala Krishna, with prince Jawahar Singh behind him, from an illustrated 'Sujan Charitra' series, by Ramji, Jaipur School, circa mid-to-late 18th century<br />
File:Painting of Pandit Jagannath, by Ramji, ca.1780.png|Painting of Pandit Jagannath, by Ramji, ca.1780<br />
File:Portrait of the horse Raghunath Prasad, by Ramji, Jaipur, ca.1750–70.jpg|Portrait of the horse Raghunath Prasad, by Ramji, Jaipur, ca.1750–70<br />
File:Painting of Madho Singh I of Jaipur State, attributed to Ramji, Jaipur, ca.1760.jpg|Painting of Madho Singh I of Jaipur State, attributed to Ramji, Jaipur, ca.1760<br />
File:Painting of Madho Singh I of Jaipur State with court attendants, attributed to Ramji, Jaipur, ca.1760.jpg|Painting of Madho Singh I of Jaipur State with court attendants, attributed to Ramji, Jaipur, ca.1760<br />
File:Painting of Jivan Ram, merchant from Jaipur, attributed to Ramji, ca.1780.jpg|Painting of Jivan Ram, merchant from Jaipur, attributed to Ramji, ca.1780<br />
</gallery><br />
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== Further reading ==<br />
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* {{Cite journal |last=Das |first=Ashok Kumar |date=1981 |editor-last=Srivastava |editor-first=Vijai Shankar |title=Ramjidas Chatera: An Eighteenth-Century Portrait Painter from Jaipur |journal=Cultural Contours of India |location=New Delhi |publisher=Abhinav |pages=318}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Artists from Jaipur]]<br />
[[Category:18th-century Indian painters]]</div>Joydeb Sarkar2003