The Stallion Tota and His Groom

Currently not on view

The Stallion Tota and His Groom

1893

Artist/maker unknown, Indian or Pakistani Attributed to Lal Singh

This portrait of the stallion Tota (literally "parrot") is much like a photograph in its shading, shadows, receding perspective, and composition. While Tota is clearly the focus of the picture, the artist Lal Singh does not depict the animal's importance by increasing its size, as was typical. Instead, he places the horse at the very front of the painting and then surrounds Tota with proportional secondary elements, such as the setting and the groom. As photography became popular with late-nineteenth-century patrons, court painters adopted its visual qualities in order to sell their work.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

The Stallion Tota and His Groom

Date:

1893

Artists:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian or Pakistani Attributed to Lal Singh

Medium:

Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver-colored paint on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 7 1/16 × 11 inches (17.9 × 27.9 cm) Sheet: 10 × 14 inches (25.4 × 35.6 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2004

Accession Number:

2004-149-78

Geography:

Probably made in India, Asia Probably made in Punjab Region, Pakistan, Asia

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Currently not on view