On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Balwant Singh with a Goose
Attributed to Nainsukh Indian
Not on view
With an extreme economy of means, including fine brush drawing and minimal washes of color, the Guler master painter Nainsukh conjured the merest suggestion of architectural space to create this dramatic setting for the enigmatic events enacted within. The artist’s lifelong patron, Raja Balwant Singh of Guler, is shown in a sensitive profile portrait, standing formally and holding a sheathed long sword. Although the presence of a lone goose in the courtyard defies explanation, we may speculate that this is a personal tribute by the artist to his late patron, with the goose perhaps intended to invoke the raja’s departed spirit.
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