The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Layla and Majnun in the wilderness with animals, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi

Layla and Majnun in the wilderness with animals, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi

c. 1590–1600
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

White paint, prone to flaking, chipped off her face, revealing the underdrawing.

Description

Nestled in the multicolored rocks are the reunited lovers Layla and Majnun, forced by society to remain separated for years. Majnun’s name means “madman,” since the separation drove him past the brink of sanity. Exiling himself to the wilderness, he became emaciated. When Layla found him after a prophetic dream, the wild animals gathered around, drawn to the purity and depth of their love. This painting illustrates a version of the story as told by an Indian author who wrote in Persian. He altered the ending given by previous Persian authors to the ancient Bedouin tale that originated among nomadic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, in which Layla dies before the couple can be physically reunited.
  • December 12, 1966
    (Sotheby’s, London, England, Fine Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 12 December 1966 sale, lot 55, sold to Ralph Benkaim)
    1966–2013
    Ralph Benkaim [1914–2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2013–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. 18, p. 191
    Archives of Asian Art 64, no. 2 (2014): 226. 226
    Munroe, Nazanin Hedayat. Sufi Lovers, Safavid Silks and Early Modern Identity. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 99–101, fig. 3.7
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 31, 2013-June 30, 2014).
  • {{cite web|title=Layla and Majnun in the wilderness with animals, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi|url=false|author=Sanwalah|year=c. 1590–1600|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.301