The Glorification of Akbar: Leaf from the Shah Jahan Album, Mughal, period of Jahangir (1605–27)
Attributed to Govardhan
Ink, color, and gold on paper; 15 5/16 x 10 1/8 in. (38.7 x 25.7 cm)
Purchase, Rogers Fund and The Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955 (55.121.10.22)
Technical Glossary
Attributed to Govardhan
Ink, color, and gold on paper; 15 5/16 x 10 1/8 in. (38.7 x 25.7 cm)
Purchase, Rogers Fund and The Kevorkian Foundation Gift, 1955 (55.121.10.22)
In the early seventeenth century, as a result of European contacts, the state portrait made its appearance at the Mughal court. The striking naturalism of other portraits is abandoned here in favor of a more idealized presentation of majesty. In this painting of Akbar (r. 1556–1605), the angels suggest a divinely appointed—or at least approved—role, while the lion and heifer symbolize a world united in peace under one benevolent ruler.
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Related Index Terms
Material and Technique
- • Painting, Ink on Paper, West Asia
- • Painting, Miniature
- • Painting, Miniature, West Asia
- • Portrait, Painting
