A Portrait of Maharana Ari Singh in Procession

Attributed to Ustad Isa by inscriptionIndia, Rajasthan, Mewar, dated VS.1836 / 1779

Details

A Portrait of Maharana Ari Singh in Procession
Attributed to Ustad Isa by inscription
India, Rajasthan, Mewar, dated VS.1836 / 1779
With the Maharana in red seated on an elegantly caparisoned elephant with his attendant holding a flywhisk, holding a goad and backed by a nimbus, with various attendants bearing weapons and the symbols of sovereignty, a golden parasol and staff with the royal crest, all marching east on a hill against a pistachio-colored background with high horizon line, an inscription in the red border above identifying the king and giving the date
Opaque pigments with gold on paper
17 x 14 1/8 in. (43.3 x 35.9 cm.), painting
19 3/8 x 14 ½ in. (49.2 x 36.8 cm.), folio

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Lot Essay

Mughal court subjects in lavish processions was a predominant genre in Udaipur painting of the eighteenth century, often times set within an elaborate architectural composition. For a similar processional portrait of Maharana Ari Singh, which also exhibits portrait-style treatment of the facial features, see the the painting of Maharana Ari Singh in procession at the Dassehra festival and attending the Khejari Puka (A. Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur, 2008, fig.181 pp.200-201). While this example is a larger painting lavishly depicting the whole event, intended for more public commemoration, the present painting shows only the procession against a blank landscape, rendering it a more intimate portrait, possibly intended for personal view.

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