The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Juggler

Juggler

c. 1840
Location: not on view

Description

A page from a book of paintings that would have included images of various entertainments in India, this painting is rendered in a European style for British consumption. The label Juggler is written in a Victorian-era hand in the margin below. The main figure is seated on the ground with his knees drawn tightly up under his chin, reinforcing a Western stereotype that all Indian people can do physical feats with their bodies, like yogis. On display are his talents of manipulating balls on a two-stringed bow, called “juggling” by the British owner of the painting for lack of a better moniker. His performance was intended to create a spectacle for entertainment and income. This painting would have been made for sale too, in the new economy under British dominance in which Indian artists made documentary pictures for foreign overlords.
  • Indian Gallery 242b Rotation – November 2017-April 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2017-April 16, 2018).
    The Year in Review for 1982. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 5-February 6, 1983).
  • {{cite web|title=Juggler|url=false|author=|year=c. 1840|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.119