A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c20.s2.7

c20.s2.7

Basāwan, whom some critics preferred to Daswanth, is represented by Plate XXI of the *Razmnāmah* illustrating the story of the Rāja who married the daughter of the King of the Frogs. The lady, divesting herself of her fine clothes, returned to the water and resumed her froggy form, whereupon the angry husband proceeded to kill all the frogs he could find, until the lady was restored to him. These incidents are illustrated in the picture, reproduced (Plate CXVII) from a good copy lent by Col. Hendley. The prevailing colour is green in various shades. The birds, frogs, trees, and flowers are drawn and painted with the utmost delicacy, but the general effect is marred by the intrusion of blocks of manuscript. The perspective convention is the same as that PLATE CXVII. The Rāja and the Frog Princess; by Basāwan and Bhawānī. (From a copy lent by Col. Hendley, C.I.E.)