1619
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of Raja Jagat Singh of Nurpur (reigned 1618–46) is a 1619 unspecified by Bichitr, a Baroque work, depicting Court of Jahangir, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a young prince in a red robe, gold jewelry, and a turban with a feather. He stands against a plain green background, holding a flower. This painting marks a rare moment—a prince from a small Himalayan kingdom honored at the Mughal court. Jagat Singh grew up there, far from home, and this portrait might celebrate his new title. The court artist, Bichitr, painted it with tiny, precise brushstrokes, a style the emperor loved. To see more of this world, look up Mughal India, court of Jahangir (reigned 1605 - 27), possibly Lahore, Indian art.
Jagat Singh was a prince from a small kingdom in the western Himalayan foothills who grew up at the imperial Mughal court of Jahangir and his queen Nur Jahan. He was given the title of prince in 1619, and this painting may commemorate that event. Very few nobles from the hill states had positions at the Mughal court at this time, so his portrait is a rare imperial Mughal painting. The emperor and his favorite wife frequently visited Nurpur, named “City of Light” in their honor, to hunt and relax, and Prince Jagat Singh was a favorite of the queen. She interceded on his behalf in 1624, when he…
Jagat Singh, shown in this miniature, was a favorite of the Mughal queen.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Bichitr was an Indian painter during the Mughal period, patronized by the emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The earliest known painting of his is a mature work from c. 1615.
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