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Akbar

Madhav Kalan

1592

paint

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

Akbar is a 1592 paint by Madhav Kalan, a Mughal Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Madhav Kalan
When & what style?: 1592 · Mughal Painting
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

You see a painting of Akbar, the Mughal emperor, receiving the keys of a fort from its governor. This painting is interesting because it shows a key moment in Akbar's reign. The governor is submitting to Akbar without a fight, which says a lot about Akbar's power at the time. To learn more about this style of painting, look up the technique of sfumato.

The story of this work

Overview

The painting depicts the Governor of Gagraun in Rajasthan presenting the keys of his fort to the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1561, illustrating an event recorded in the *Akbarnama*, the official chronicle of Akbar’s reign. Created by Mughal court artist Madhav Kalan in 1592, the work is part of an early illustrated version of the manuscript, commissioned by Akbar and written by Abu’l Fazl between 1590 and 1596. The image is rendered in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, with the artist’s name inscribed in red beneath the scene. The manuscript remained in the imperial library under Akbar’s…

Read the full account in the museum source.