A mendicant bowing before a holy man, from the Prince Salim Album

c. 1585; inner border added in Allahabad c. 1602; outer border added probably 1900s

This object has related works. See

Basavana

(Indian, active c. 1560–1600)

Culture

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

Medium

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Measurements

Page: 32.7 x 21.1 cm (12 7/8 x 8 5/16 in.); Painting: 13.6 x 7.5 cm (5 3/8 x 2 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

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 2013.296

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?

The dog stares hungrily at the mendicant’s alms bowl, with the artist’s signature.

Description

As the Mughal atelier grew into the 1580s, Indian artists become increasingly adept at incorporating Persian styles with a new dimensionality and naturalism that Akbar promoted, possibly based on his appreciation of European prints and paintings. Here, a sincere holy man wears robes tinged lightly with blue. He stands beneath a tree in the wilderness with a loyal jackal by his side. A devotee touches his head to his feet. The artist’s tiny signature is written on the alms bowl. Connoisseurs of Persian art in the Islamic world praised an artist’s virtuoso ability to work on a microscopic scale.