The Pushtimarg, a Hindu sect established in India in the 15th century,
possess a unique culture, melding art and devotion in rich aesthetic
traditions, until recently unknown outside South Asia. Gates of the Lord,
illustrated with nearly two hundred vivid images, shines a light on one of
the world's oldest living artistic customs, reaching back centuries and still vital today.
Essays by eminent scholars of Indian art focus on the style of worship,
patterns of patronage, and artistic heritage that generated pichhvais, large temple paintings on cloth, as well as other paintings for the Pushtimarg. In this lucid study, the authors examine how pichhvais were, and still are used in the seasonal and daily veneration of Shrinathji, an aspect of Krishna as a child, who is the chief deity of the temple town of Nathdwara in Rajasthan.
Gates of the Lord is a magnificent introduction to the spirit of Nathdwara,
through the exquisite visual world of the Pushtimarg.
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