Window mode follows your eyes with your camera, in this browser only: no picture or position leaves your device.
Portrait of Maharaja Rai Singh of Bikaner (reigned 1574–1612)
c. 1610
- Medium
- Gum tempera and gold on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 25.4 x 38.1 cm (10 x 15 in.)
- Culture
- Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bikaner
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- Alma Kroeger Fund
- 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
The portly Rajput king wears a long, belted tunic tied under the left arm—the custom of most Hindus. His berry-hued garments stand in pleasing contrast against the teal green background that references the lushness of paradise. Though the artist is unidentified, the naturalistic sensitivity of the portrait and delicacy of the garments imply the work of a master court painter, probably following a model by Nur Muhammad.
Rai Singh had an illustrious career serving his overlord the Mughal emperor Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), and his daughter was married to Akbar’s son, Jahangir (reigned 1605–27).
