The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 23, 2023

Jain Ascetic Walking Along a Riverbank

c. 1600

Basavana

(Indian, active c. 1560–1600)

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

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.)

Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 1967.244

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

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.

Inscriptions

Inscription

amal-i behzad

Inscription Translation

The work of Behzad

Inscription Remark

Later spurious attribution to the famed Persian painter Bihzad (1450–1535) inscribed above palm tree.

Inscription

amal-i Basawan ... [?]chandra

Inscription Translation

Work of Basawan ... [?]chandra

Inscription Remark

This inscription has been partially erased. It may have been written by the Mughal emperor Jahangir, since it appears to be in his distinctively large hand. Four Jain monks whose name end in -chandra were prominent participants in the Mughal court: Shantichandra, his disciple Bhanuchandra, Jinachandra, and Siddhichandra. This portrait probably depicts one of them. Bhanuchandra was close to Akbar's sons, Salim (who became the emperor Jahangir) and Daniyal. Siddhichandra received the Persian appellation "Jahangir Pasand" (Jahangir's Favorite).

Provenance
?–1967
(Herbert N. Bier [1905–1981], Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1967–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Pal, Pratapaditya, with contributions by Shridhar Andhare and others. The Peaceful Liberators: Jain Art from India. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1994. Reproduced: cat. no. 114, p. 249.
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 236 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 304 archive.org
Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. cat. no. 17
Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. p. 23, cat. no. 2
Crill, Rosemary, and Kapil Jariwala. The Indian Portrait, 1560-1860. London: National Portrait Gallery Publications, National Portrait Gallery, 2010. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 12, pp. 72–73
Diamond, Debra, and Molly Emma Aitken. Yoga: The Art of Transformation. Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2013. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 5F, p. 137
"A Jain Ascetic." Nūr: CAIS magazine, Winter 2021 (Vol. 5, No. 2): 14. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 14
Exhibition history

Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4–August 5, 2003).

Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 20–August 18, 2004).

Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).

The Peaceful Conquerors: Jain Art from India. New Orleans Museum of Art (June 29-September 17, 1995); Victoria and Albert Museum (November 22, 1995-February 18, 1996).

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).

The Indian Portrait, 1560-1860. National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (March 11-June 20, 2010).

Yoga: The Art of Transformation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 22-September 7, 2014).

Text and Image in Southern Asia​ (Indian Painting and Himalayan rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-March 5, 2023).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.244