Prince with Hookah
Artist/Culture
Guler Rajput
Date1778–1782
Mediumwatercolor on paper
Dimensions21.4 x 29.5 cm (8 7/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsNon-Western Miniatures
Credit LineJerome Wheelock Fund
Object number1935.28
Label TextThis painting is a portrait of a Guler prince or nobleman whose identity remains unknown. The isolation of the subject in his pavilion, his quiet pose, and his well-defined features clearly indicate the artist's intention of carefully rendering a likeness of an important figure for posterity.
Although intended as a portrait, the painting has all the markings of a standard tryst scene; while the lady makes her preparations, the lover awaits their meeting--perhaps in the garden, but more likely inside the pavilion, give the overall reserve of the painting. The exquisite rendering of the female form is noteworthy, for Pahari artists increasingly conveyed romantic love through idealized female beauty.ProvenanceHeeramaneck Galleries, New York NYOn View
Not on view
