The name Kangra style is given to this group of painting for the reason that they are identical in style to the portraits of Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra. Paintings of the Kangra style are attributed mainly to the Nainsukh family.
Some of the Pahari painters found patronage in the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh nobility in the beginning of the 19th century and executed portraits and other miniatures in a modified version of the Kangra style which continued till the middle of the 19th century.
Salient features of this school of art:
- The delicacy of drawing and quality of naturalism are the stand-out features of this school of art
- The Kangra style is by far the most poetic and lyrical of Indian styles marked with serene beauty and delicacy of execution.
- Distinctive is the delineation of the female face, with a straight nose in line with the forehead, which came in vogue around the 1790s, is the most distinctive feature of this style.
- Most popular themes that were painted were the Bhagvata Purana, Gita Govinda, Nala Damayanti, Bihari Satsai, Ragamala and Baramasa
Figure: Kangra school of Painting