Farhad Kills Himself After Hearing the False News of Shirin’s Death
1810
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1810
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A man lies dead on rocky ground while women gather around him. One woman in fine clothes kneels, her head glowing with a golden halo—this is Shirin, who never actually died. The painting tells a tragic love story from Persian legend. Farhad, the man on the ground, dug a canal through a mountain to prove his love for Shirin. When he heard a false rumor that she was dead, he killed himself. The artist shows the moment after, with bright colors and careful details that were common in Rajasthan paintings of the time. To see more works like this, look up the Rajput kingdom of Jodhpur.
