The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Women bathing before an architectural panorama

Women bathing before an architectural panorama

c. 1765
(Indian, active c. 1730–1765)
India, Lucknow, Mughal
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.344
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The artist signed his name below the king’s seat that overlooks the garden vista.

Description

Despite the wars waged and forts besieged in the background, life in the palace is carefree and luxurious. Some women enjoy hookahs and music on balconies, while others swim and drink liquor with abandon from Chinese porcelain cups and bottles. The artist has placed his name under the central pavilion, observing the scene across a formal garden of marigolds. The artist seems to have enjoyed experimenting with the idea of perspective, learned from European sources. He created a rapidly receding space that telescopes the view from the intimate harem quarters to the distant battlefields.
  • February 28, 1974
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, Oriental Miniatures, Fine Books, Autographs, 28 February 1974, lot 131)
    April 11, 1989
    (Christie’s, London, Important Islamic, Indian and Southeast Asian Manuscripts, Miniatures and Works of Art, 11 April 1989, lot 94)
    1989–2001
    Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA
    2001–2013
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mace, Sonia Rhie, Dominique DeLuca, and Mohsen Ashtiany. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories : the Cleveland Museum of Art. 2016. cat. 91, p. 284, 286, 288.
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    Imagining the Garden. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24, 2015-March 6, 2016).
  • {{cite web|title=Women bathing before an architectural panorama|url=false|author=Fayzullah|year=c. 1765|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.344