Portrait of Maharaja Pratap Singh (1764–1803)
attributed to Sahib Ram (Indian, active 1745–1803)
c. 1793
- Medium
- Colored ink drawing
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 61.4 x 40.5 cm (24 3/16 x 15 15/16 in.)
- Culture
- Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Jaipur
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Maharaja Pratap Singh came to the throne in the princely state of Jaipur in 1778 at the age of 14, about 15 years before this portrait was painted. He was a poet and patron of the arts known for commissioning the famous “Palace of the Winds” in Jaipur. At his court he maintained an atelier of about 50 painters, among whom was a Muslim master, Sah ib Ram, to whom this painting is attributed.
Pratap Singh was a devotee of the Hindu god Krishna, and the mark on his forehead testifies to this affiliation. Though highly stylized, this portrait is recognizable as an image of Singh because of his profile and the distinctive curl of hair at the nape of his neck.
