{{Short description|Pahari artist}}
{{Infobox artist | name = Purkhu | image = Detail of a presumed self-portrait of Purkhu of Kangra, from 'Maharaja Sansar Chand of Kangra Enjoys Paintings with His Courtiers' by Purkhu of Kangra, ca.1785–90.jpg | style = Pahari (specifically Kangra) and Sikh | children = | honorific_prefix = | honorific_suffix = | caption = Presumed self-portrait of Purkhu from a larger work | birth_date = | death_date = | patrons = Sansar Chand of Kangra State<br>Ranjit Singh of Lahore State }}
'''Purkhu''' (fl. 1780–1820<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Maharaja Sansar Chand of Kangra Enjoys Paintings with His Courtiers |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/76039 |access-date=20 October 2024 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref>), also spelt as '''Purkhoo''' or '''Parkhu''', and also known as '''Purkhu of Kangra''', was a Pahari painter who specialized in the Kangra-style.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Guy |first=John |title=Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900 |last2=Britschgi |first2=Jorrit |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=2011 |isbn=9781588394309 |pages=176–177 |chapter=Purkhu of Kangra}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chaitanya |first=Krishna |title=A History of Indian Painting |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1976 |isbn=9788170173106 |volume=2 |pages=1–7 |chapter=1: A Twilit Landscape}}</ref> He painted both courtly and religious themes.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
== Biography and works == thumb|Detail of several figures from a painting of Maharaja Sansar Chand's court, with one of the figures identified by an inscription as depicting the artist Purkhu. Purkhu was the son of Dhummun.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pal |first=Pratapaditya |title=Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October, 1970 |publisher=Brill Archive |year=1972 |isbn=9789004036253 |edition=illustrated |pages=133}}</ref> Purkhu was likely the head ''chitrera'' (artist) of a courtly atelier based out of Kangra State during the reign of Sansar Chand (r. 1775–1823).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In his works, he documented both the public and private lives of his patron.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
Purkhu also produced a series of religious art works based upon the ''Harivamsa'', ''Shiva Purana'', ''Ramayana'', ''Gita Govinda'', and ''Kedara Kalpa''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
Purkhu's disciple was Basharat Ullah.<ref name=":1" />
== Style == When comparing the works of earlier Pahari artists belonging to the first generation after Nainsukh and Manaku, which are characterized as "dreamlike" and "lyrical", Purkhu's on the other hand are "journalistic".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In Purkhu's works, individual facial features depicted do not seem individual, however closer examination reveals subtle differences.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The landscapes in his paintings have been described as "more mannered" when compared to the earlier Pahari artists.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
== Legacy == Some of Purkhu's paintings were exhibited at the Lahore Exhibition of 1864, where they were praised for their "remarkable clearness of tone and delicacy of handling" and got a special mention in the Jury's Report on Fine Art items.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aijazuddin |first=F. S. |title=Pahari Paintings and Sikh Portraits in the Lahore Museum |publisher=Sotheby Parke Bernet |year=1977 |isbn=9780856670299 |pages=xix–xx |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>
== Gallery ==
=== Kangra === <gallery> File:Detail of 'Maharaja Sansar Chand of Kangra Enjoys Paintings with His Courtiers' by Purkhu of Kangra, ca.1785–90.jpg|Detail of 'Maharaja Sansar Chand of Kangra Enjoys Paintings with His Courtiers' by Purkhu of Kangra, ca.1785–90 File:Ancestor painting of Mian Gopal of Guler seated whilst leaning against a bolster by Purkhu, ca.1825.jpg|Ancestor painting of Mian Gopal of Guler seated whilst leaning against a bolster by Purkhu, ca.1825 File:Folio 48 from the Kangra Rasikapriya, school of Purkhu, Kangra, c 1810.jpg|Folio 48 from the Kangra Rasikapriya, school of Purkhu, Kangra, c 1810 File:Krishna Approaches Indra for Help, workshop of Purkhu, Honolulu Museum of Art.jpg|Krishna Approaches Indra for Help, workshop of Purkhu, Honolulu Museum of Art File:Illustration to a Mahabharata series, In the manner of Purkhu, Kangra, circa 1815-20.jpg|Illustration to a Mahabharata series, In the manner of Purkhu, Kangra, circa 1815-20 File:Indra consulting with his Preceptor in the Assembly of the Gods.jpg|Indra consulting with his Preceptor in the Assembly of the Gods File:Maharaja Sansar Chand receives some visitors (6124527703).jpg|Maharaja Sansar Chand receives some visitors File:Radha and Krishna watching a storm.jpg|Radha and Krishna watching a storm, c 1810-20 </gallery>
=== Sikh === <gallery> File:Miniature painting of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya with a fly-whisk attendant. Family atelier of Purkhu of Kangra, ca.1785.jpg|Miniature painting of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya with a fly-whisk attendant. Family atelier of Purkhu of Kangra, ca.1785 File:Guru Gobind Singh with the Sahibzadas.jpg|Guru Gobind Singh with the Sahibzadas File:'Assembly of Sikhs and Sansar Chand of Kangra', attributed to Purkhu of Kangra, ca.1780.jpg|Ramgarhia and Sukarchakia Misls hold a diplomatic meeting File:Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia in conversation with Jodh Singh and Bir Singh.jpg|Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia in conversation with Jodh Singh and Bir Singh File:Portrait of Guru Arjan Dev, the Fifth Guru.jpg|Portrait of Guru Arjan Dev, the Fifth Guru File:Painting of Jai Singh Kanhaiya receiving Raja Raj Singh and other hill princes with canopy overhead, ca.1774.jpg|Painting of Jai Singh Kanhaiya receiving Raja Raj Singh and other hill princes with canopy overhead, ca.1774 </gallery>
== References == <references />
Category:18th-century Indian painters