Artwork Page for Women bathing before an architectural panorama

Details / Information for Women bathing before an architectural panorama

Women bathing before an architectural panorama

c. 1765

Fayzullah

(Indian, active c. 1730–1765)
Culture
India, Lucknow, Mughal
Medium
Gum tempera and gold on paper
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 2013.344
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

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.
A vertically oriented tempera painting depicts people with light to medium-light skin tones in the foregrounded palace and background battlefield. Topless women swim in a central square pool, surrounded by a symmetrical, multilevel palace adorned with yellow, orange, and blue patterns and flowerbeds. Receding into the background, a horizontally running river with boats divides the palace from fields with rows of people bearing weapons. At the upper center, an ombre blue circle cuts into the scene.

Women bathing before an architectural panorama

c. 1765

Fayzullah

(Indian, active c. 1730–1765)
India, Lucknow, Mughal

See Also

  • Collection
    Indian
  • Department
    Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Type of artwork
    Painting
  • Medium
    Tempera
  • 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

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