Meeting of a Prince and Poet

Unknown

mid-16th century · Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

This unfinished work depicts the meeting of a noble young horseman and an older man on foot. Although no rulings for text blocks appear on the page, it may well have been conceived as a manuscript illustration in which a princely figure enounters a humble subject who dispenses useful philosophy. After outlining the figures and foreground elements, the artist painted the gold sky and the rocky landscape. Before painting over the lightly drawn facial details, the artist altered the position of the horse's back right foot. Such an image provides a rare glimpse of the sequence from ink to paint in Persian painting.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-16th century

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1918