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The siege of Arbela in the era of Hulagu Khan, from a Chingiz-nama (Book of Chingiz Khan) of the Jami al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) of Rashid al-Din (Persian, 1247–1318)

Basawan

1596

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Patna School of Painting Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance History Painting

Dominant colour

The siege of Arbela in the era of Hulagu Khan, from a Chingiz-nama (Book of Chingiz Khan) of the Jami al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) of Rashid al-Din (Persian, 1247–1318) is a 1596 unspecified by Basawan, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Basawan
When & what style?: 1596 · Patna School of Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a crowded battle scene: a Mongol leader on a white horse stares down a defeated enemy, while soldiers and horses fill the space behind them. This painting was made 300 years after the actual battle, for a book about history. The artist packed the scene with tiny, lifelike figures—something new for Indian art at the time. The city in the background feels almost like a stage set. Look up more paintings from the court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) to see how this style grew.

The story of this work

Overview

A Mongol conqueror riding a white horse gazes stonily at his defeated West Asian opponent in a scene that took place more than 300 years before this painting was made. By the end of the 1500s there was a new emphasis on creating paintings to accompany historical texts. Visually, the diagonal composition with cityscape at the top of the page—also found among the earliest Mughal paintings—was expanded to include throngs of participants and a startling new naturalism. Painting from the Akbar period reached its maturity by the 1590s in works such as this: dynamic in composition and gestures but…

Did you know?

The lord of the citadel in blue is negotiating its surrender to the Mongol general, who rides the white horse in the lower right.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Basawan

Basāwan, or Basāvan, was an Indian miniature painter in the Mughal style. He was known by his contemporaries as a skilled colorist and keen observer of human nature, and for his use of portraiture in the illustrations…

See the richer artist page