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A Mounted Prince Hunting Lion in a Rocky Landscape

Khem Karan

1600

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Baroque Landscape Hunting

Dominant colour

A Mounted Prince Hunting Lion in a Rocky Landscape is a 1600 unspecified by Khem Karan, a Mughal Painting work, depicting Hunting, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Khem Karan
When & what style?: 1600 · Mughal Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

A prince on horseback swings his sword at a snarling lion. The horse rears, one leg bent to keep its balance. Jagged rocks and dry grass fill the background. This scene comes from old Persian stories where heroes prove their courage. The artist left white spaces around the figures—almost like a sketch—to plan the final painting. The calm prince and the charging lion show how Mughal artists mixed action with quiet control. To see more like this, look up Mughal India, Indian art.

The story of this work

Overview

A Mughal prince encounters a lion in the wilderness and, maintaining his composure, dispatches it with a single blow of his sword. Equally fearless, his horse lunges toward the wild animal, one foreleg turning in to counter the force of the blow. This image recalls the feats of a Persian epic hero. This drawing may have been a study for a full-color composition. The areas of white around the key figures indicate that the artist was working out the ideal positioning of features and elements. The prince is calm and confident, in contrast to the anxious expression on the face of his attendant.…