Reverse glass painting in India

Abstract

Reverse glass painting is a fascinating yet comparatively unknown facet of Indian art that flourished in the mid-19th century. Painted by Chinese and Indian artists, these 'exotic' paintings in luminous colours were much favoured by royal patrons, and also by prosperous landowners and city merchants in colonial India. The themes ranged from portraits of rulers, their families, nobles, dancers and courtesans, to landscapes and a wide variety of religious subjects drawn from the Puranas and the Epics. Many of the portraits are set in western style settings and offer a charming insight into tastes and lifestyle of the western educated urban elite in mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century India.