{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O428299"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O428299/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2013GL0931/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2013GL0931/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2013GL0931","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O428299","accessionNumber":"IS.50-1993","objectType":"Painting","titles":[{"title":"'Between the barking dogs and a painted - tiger I sleep'","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"Amit Ambalal was born in Ahmedabad in 1943. The artist received no formal training in an art school, but has had the guidance of the veteran artist and teacher Chhaganlal Jadhav. Qualified in Arts, Commerce and Law, he has been a businessman prior taking up painting full-time since 1979. \r\n\r\nA man (possibly the artist) stretches out horizontally across the center of the painting, he has his hands behind his head and one leg bent up. He lies on a tiger skin which has a protruding tongue. In front of him are three dogs (white and black, brown and white), who appear to be jumping and barking. The background is painted in a naive, child-like manner with a strip of green for the grass and white for ground. This work (see also IS 51 1993) is typical of his bright colour palette and his humorous style\r\n\r\nIn this painting, the artist approaches tradition via the folk forms of popular religious traditions such as the Nathdwara School of painting. Amabalal's paintings give evidence of an important tendency in contemporary Indian art - that of a contemporary approach to tradition via the folk forms of popular religious traditions. He is inspired by the traditional art forms and by the everyday life of Gujarat and traditional art forms such as  the 'Picchawais' religious painted cloth and Rajasthani paintings of Nathdwara. His paintings in this sense, make an interesting interface with his passion for art history. In depicting the everyday and its seemingly mundane aspects, Amabalal deploys a naive and child-like style.","physicalDescription":"Painting, in watercolour and pastel on paper, a man (possibly the artist ) stretches out horizontally across the center of the painting, he has his hands behind his head and one leg bent up. He lies on a tiger skin which has a protruding tongue. In front of him are three dogs (white and black, brown and white), who appear to be jumping and barking. The background is painted in a naïve, child-like manner with a strip of green for the grass and white for ground. This work (see also IS 51 1993) is typical of his bright colour palette and his humorous style.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Amit Ambalal","id":"A35671"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"watercolour","id":"AAT15045"},{"text":"pastel","id":"x32662"},{"text":"paper","id":"AAT14109"}],"techniques":[{"text":"painted","id":"AAT54216"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Painted in watercolour and pastel on paper","categories":[{"text":"Paintings","id":"THES48917"},{"text":"Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project","id":"THES263148"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2013GL0931"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"008","id":"THES394725"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"painting","id":"AAT33618"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Gujarat","id":"x29825"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1992","earliest":"1992-01-01","latest":"1992-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"56","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"76.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"Signed, titled and dated by the artist at the back. 'Between the barking dogs and painted tiger - I sleep.'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"Purchased from the artist. Rp 92/965","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Painting, 'Between the barking dogs and a painted tiger-I sleep' by Amit Ambalal, watercolour and pastel on paper, Gujarat, 1992","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Indian Contemporary Art, Post Independence, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 1997. pp 86-87"}],"production":"Amit Ambalal was born in Ahmedabad in 1943. The artist received no formal training in an art school, but has had the guidance of the veteran artist and teacher Chhaganlal Jadhav. Qualified in Arts, Commerce and Law, he was a businessman prior taking up painting full-time since 1979. \r\n\r\nThe artist is especially interested in the Nathdwara School of painting. He has written a book on the subject titled 'Krishna as Shrinathji - Rajastani Paintings from Nathdwara' (1987). \r\n\r\nAmbalal's paintings give evidence of an important tendency in contemporary Indian art - that of a contemporary approach to tradition via the folk forms of popular religious traditions. The artist is a collector and writer on traditional art forms, in particular 'Picchawais' religious painted cloth and Rajasthani paintings of Nathdwara. His paintings in this sense, make an interesting interface with his passion for art history of devotional pictures from Nathdwara. In depicting the everyday and its seemingly mundane aspects, Ambalal deploys a naive and child-like style. He is inspired by the traditional art forms and by the everyday life of Gujarat. This work (see also IS 51-1993) are typical of his bright colour palette and his naive, exuberant, humorous style. \r\n\r\n\r\nThe artist held his first solo exhibition at the Hutheesing Visual Arts Centre in Ahmedabad in 1980. He has had fourteen solo shows in Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bombay, Calcutta and New Delhi between 1980 and 1997. His work has been exhibited in several group exhibitions in India and abroad including the Sixth Triennale-India 1986 and the Bharat Bhavan Biennale, 1990. The artist lives and works in Ahmedabad.","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"A man (possibly the artist) stretches out horizontally across the centre of the painting, he has his hands behind his head and one leg bent up. He lies on a tiger skin which has a protruding tongue. In front of him are three dogs (white and black, brown and white), who appear to be jumping and barking. ","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"man","id":"AAT25928"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.50-1993"],"accessionNumberNum":"50","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1993,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-01-30","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-25","availableToBook":true}}