The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

The Taj Mahal

c. 1858–62

Dr. John Murray

(Scottish, 1809–1898)
England
albumen print
Image: 43.2 x 38.4 cm (17 x 15 1/8 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund 2022.10
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The Taj Mahal is a monument to lost love, built by Shah Jahan in 1632–53 to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Description

This view of the Taj Mahal, shot from the bank of the Yamuna River, offers a dramatic contrast between the seemingly perfect white marble monument in the background and dark, ruined structures in the foreground. It sets the Taj into a broader geographic and cultural context by including nature (the river) and two cultures, one that has crumbled and another that, because it approaches aesthetic perfection, has been carefully preserved.
  • ?-2000
    Kanwardip Gujral Collection, Hamburg, Germany
    May 5, 2000
    (Christie's, South Kensington, London, England), lot 00274, sold to Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, England
    2000-2022
    (Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, England), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    March 7, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Christie’s South Kensington, Friday, May 5, 2000 Lot 00274
  • {{cite web|title=The Taj Mahal|url=false|author=Dr. John Murray|year=c. 1858–62|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.10