Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of a man

Date: c. 1700
Medium: Gum tempera on paper
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

This sensitive portrait survives as a fragment, part of a study for a larger painting. This man’s Mughal tunic, with a katar dagger tucked into the sash, indicates that he is a noble, probably Hindu, because the tunic is tied under the left arm. The gesture of his right hand—just a ghost of an indication—and slightly parted lips suggest that he is making a request. His upright posture reveals an inner strength and dignity despite the affliction to his eyes, which seem no longer able to see. The subject of this drawing might be a posthumous portrait of the blind king Sital Dev of Mankot (reigned 1630–1660), who died several decades before this drawing was made.

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