European Scene

Gallery 329, Asian Art, third floor

Main Building

European Scene

c. 1600, borders 18th century?

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

This delicate drawing, whose subject is unknown, borrows heavily from the many European engravings given to the Mughal emperor Akbar (ruled 1556-1605) and stored in the massive court library. Not only has the Mughal artist used a translucent wash to add roundness to the figures and drapery, but he has also borrowed the idea, if not the exact process, of European one-point perspective in the receding architecture and throne. Even the bold outlines and carefully modulated tones - hallmarks of the nim qalam (half-pen) technique - echo the look of prints. At the same time, the drawing's sweeping lines evoke the calligrapher's art, examples of which frame the image on all four sides.

Gallery 329, Asian Art, third floor

Object Details

Title:

European Scene

Date:

c. 1600, borders 18th century?

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Ink, transparent watercolor, and gold on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 7 × 4 1/16 inches (17.8 × 10.3 cm) Sheet: 15 7/8 × 10 11/16 inches (40.3 × 27.1 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Bequest of Margaretta S. Hinchman, 1955

Accession Number:

1955-96-22

Geography:

Made in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Context:

Dynasty: Mughal Dynasty (1526-1858)

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Gallery 329, Asian Art, third floor

Main Building

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