Maharana Bhim Singh frolics with noblemen in the palace pool, 1803 (opaque w/c & gold...

Court of Mewar, Rajasthan Maharana Bhim Singh frolics in the pool in the palace on Jagnivas Island in the lake at Udaipur, attended by courtiers and priests and observed by the ranis. The yellow turbans and yellow clothing of the women suggest that the occasion was the celebration of Basant Panchmi, a spring festival which occurs when the weather begins to be hot. On this day people wear yellow, the color of the flowering mustard fields. Some of the revellers in the pool use gilded flotation devices. The artist must have sat on the roof to sketch this scene. Just below the viewer's vantage point is the room within a pavilion where the rug appears to be at the top of the room, as it would be if you put your head over the edge and looked down. The painting was cut down at some time, no doubt to tidy shredding edges, but originally would have shown all of the deck and pavillions around the pool.