Portrait Study c. 1775

drawing

toned paper

facial expression drawing

caricature

underpainting

animal drawing portrait

portrait drawing

watercolour illustration

portrait art

watercolor

fine art portrait

This small, delicate portrait study, likely made around 1775 by an unknown artist, depicts the profile of a man wearing a white turban. The drawing, executed in brown ink and watercolor on paper, demonstrates the skill of the anonymous artist in capturing the likeness of the sitter. This piece, now housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, exemplifies the art of portraiture in 18th-century India.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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This large profile study of a man, broadly rendered with a wet brush and light colors, typifies the clear, direct style of Kishangarh. The elongated eye and exaggerated brow, characteristic of the eighteenth-century Kishangarh idiom, are apparent. Subtly shaded wash drawings like this were based on Mughal prototypes. Idealized portrait heads of men and women were popular with the Mughal court, and the theme transferred easily to Kishangarh, site of a sophisticated graphic tradition. Wash drawings were, however, relatively rare in other Rajput court ateliers.