Jain Ascetic Walking Along a Riverbank

c. 1600

Basavana

(Indian, active c. 1560–1600)

Culture

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

Medium

gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Measurements

Painting: 14.7 x 9.8 cm (5 13/16 x 3 7/8 in.); Overall: 38.8 x 26.3 cm (15 1/4 x 10 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 1967.244

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

He carries a book and a fly whisk tucked under his left arm.

Description

Alluding to his wisdom, this white-clad Jain monk carries a manuscript under his left arm, bound with a red cover. Otherwise he carries a Jain monk’s basic accouterments: whisk broom, staff, and pot.

This sensitively painted portrait was made for the collection of the Mughal emperor Akbar who was curious about the tenets of Jainism. He admired the explanations of the Jain monks who regularly attended the emperor’s weekly discussion sessions among members of different religious groups.