Cleveland Museum of Art

Maharana Jagat Singh II Hunting

Jugarsi, son of Jiva

Date

1747

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Culture

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput kingdom of Mewar, Udaipur, Court of Jagat Singh (reigned 1734-51)

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

One of the favorite pastimes of the Rajput nobility was hunting, a subject frequently depicted in secular painting in Rajasthan. Often much larger than other Indian paintings, hunting scenes glorified the pleasures and splendors of these stately affairs. This colorful painting depicts a royal hunt conducted by the Maharana Jagat Singh II of Udaipur. An inscription on the reverse side of the painting mentions the Maharana's name along with the hunting party's other participants, including the Maharana's brother. The hunt takes place in a detailed landscape of hills and varied vegetation. The animals (tiger, bear, wild boar, deer, stag, and antelope) are rounded up and diverted by servants (who shoot firecrackers) toward the shooting box at the center of the composition, where the royal members of the hunting party await their prey. Another group of servants with dogs approaches from the opposite direction to cut off the animals' route of escape. Some beasts are already killed or wounded, while others are trying desperately to run for their lives. The painting is signed on the reverse by the artist—a rare occurrence in Indian painting. The name reads "Jugarsi, son of Jiva."

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