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The Taj Mahal Pool oil on linen - SOLD Before leaving India I traveled by car to Agra to see the Taj Mahal which I had missed on a trip to India in 1963. However it was not the buildings, but the life of the people, as they got up with the sun rising through the early morning mist, that was the most interesting to me. I wish I could have captume the whole 5-hour drive from Delhi to Agra on canvas. In this painting the reflection of the the Taj Mahal in the pool captures the mystical feeling of the Taj that I wanted to share much more than the overdone pictures of the front of the building itself. And the woman in the traditional salwar kameez Muslim dress and the young boy in modern clothing, bring the scene into the present. The Taj Mahal is probably the most extravagant monument ever built for love, and has become the emblem of India. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631. 20,000 people from India and Central Asia worked on the building and the construction bill is believed to have run to three million rupees, or US$60 million today. Return to the Tibetan Paintings page: ASIA 2005 Return to Susan's Art Home page: www.susanart.net |