Item Info

Media Type: Albumen Prints
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes:

This painting illustrates yet another of Bhishma’s tales, that of a Brahman whose steadfast devotion has brought him the gift of great virtue. A servant to the gods, the cloud Kundadhara, bestows this gift. While the subject is wholly Indian in origin, the motif of a figure riding a cloud—and the manner in which it is rendered here—may have been inspired by contemporary Flemish engravings. Mughal artists likely had access to the heavily illustrated, two-volume Evangelicae Historiae Imagines, a volume of which is on view here. This picture book of gospel stories was first published in Antwerp in 1593 and includes several compositions showing figures similarly descending within clouds. In 1595, the members of the Jesuit Mission presented a copy of this book to Emperor Akbar.

Region/County: Region/County:Northern India, Mughal court

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): 1599
Call Number: Lewis M 27
Creator Name: Kashmiri, Salih - Artist