Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor painting. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1996.378
- Credit line
- Purchase, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift, in honor of Mahrukh Tarapor, 1996
About this work
Two women and a man sit on a patterned carpet, playing lutes and singing. The paper is thin enough that ink from the reverse shows through like a faint shadow, and gold leaf, added last, still catches the light. The maker is unknown; the work comes from Mughal India around 1640.
Subject & Meaning
Executed in ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper and dated to 1640, the work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
The painting portrays a couple: a man identified as a musician playing a musical instrument alongside a woman. Executed in ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper and dated to 1640, the work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The sources record the subjects without further interpretive commentary on symbolism, and no additional iconographic analysis is provided in the source material.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in ink and opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper, a combination characteristic of mid-seventeenth-century Indian miniature painting. The composition is rendered on a small-format sheet measuring 19.7 by 12.4 centimeters, an intimate scale that supports fine brushwork and delicate pigment application. The use of gold alongside opaque watercolor suggests careful layering, with metallic accents likely applied to figural details, garments, or the musical instrument to create luminosity.
The genre scene is treated in the compact, narrative manner typical of the period's manuscript and album traditions, with precise linear drawing in ink beneath the opaque color washes. No condition report is documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
Created in India around 1640, this untitled work is attributed to an anonymous painter. Executed in ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, it depicts a genre scene featuring a couple, a musician and a musical instrument. While details of its original commission or early ownership are not provided in the available records, the painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Its dimensions are recorded as 19.7 cm in height by 12.4 cm in width.
Overview
This untitled painting, originating from Mughal India around 1640, captures a tranquil musical gathering. Executed with ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, the artwork presents two women and a man seated on an elaborate carpet, engrossed in playing lutes and singing. Its refined craftsmanship and the incorporation of precious materials are characteristic of the artistic practices of its era.
Artist & collection
