Photo Essay

The Miniature as Photo Backdrop
Waswo X. Waswo’s

Painted backdrops have
been essential to my work
over the past six years.
Generally painted on
linen, but also at times on
canvas, they are created by
a large number of craftsmen
working in teams. Following
my basic instructions,
different lead artists direct
their apprentice painters.
Thus the various lead artists’
preferences of style become
detectable in any particular
image. A common aesthetic
thread is the influence of
historical and modernday
Rajasthani miniature
painting.