Portrait of Emperor Jahangir

"The slave Ni'mat Qadim Abu 'l Hasan" />

ca. 1615–20 · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

Jahangir was an exacting patron who worked closely with the artists in his employ. The style of portraiture created during his reign changed dramatically with the influx of European prints into India. He had many of these prints copied, so closely that the visitors who had brought them could not distinguish the originals, and this zest for accuracy is reflected in the painting here. A straightforward likeness, this portrait is very different in tone from the allegorical portraits of emperors that were also popular. No putti herald the emperor from the heavens and there is no representation of his vast domains in the background. Rather, Jahangir is presented as a lover of books, a no-nonsense ruler squarely in the line of those listed in the chart on the back of the painting, which gives his genealogy stretching back to Timur.

Artist

"The slave Ni'mat Qadim Abu 'l Hasan" />

Date

ca. 1615–20

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913