Image courtesy of Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd.
On view
South Asian Art
Equestrian portrait of Maharana Sarup Singh of Mewar,
1859
Parasuram, active mid-late 19th century
Indian
2022-40
Paintings of rulers on horseback appeared in India from the time of Babur, the first Mughal emperor, who reigned in the early sixteenth century. These images generally portray the emperor in battle surrounded by other figures. Over time, depictions featuring the rider and horse in profile against a sparse background became popular. During the reign of Maharana Sarup Singh (r. 1844–61), ruler of the kingdom of Mewar in northwestern India, painters such as Parasuram absorbed Western artistic techniques into traditional Mewar court painting. The grisaille method seen here, which uses fine stippling to create different shades of gray, was borrowed from contemporary Western engravings and is rarely seen in Indian painting.
More About This Object
Information
Title
Equestrian portrait of Maharana Sarup Singh of Mewar
Dates
1859
Maker
Medium
Stippled drawing with color and gold on paper
Dimensions
Painting: 27.5 × 17.8 cm (10 13/16 × 7 in.)
Mount: 32.7 × 27 cm (12 7/8 × 10 5/8 in.)
Mat: 55.9 × 40.6 cm (22 × 16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2022-40
Place Made
Asia, India, Udaipur
Inscription
inscribed in panel on upper border
Culture
Type
Collection of British Rail Pension Fund, London, 1980s–1994; [Sotheby's London, Indian Miniatures: The Property of the British Rail Pension Fund, April 26, 1994, lot 54]; Collection of Peter G.W. Salomon, Denmark, 1994–2021; purchased by [Forge & Lynch], 2021–2022; acquired by the Princeton University Art Museum, 2022.
