Description
A richly patterned carpet spans the width of the composition and forms the setting for a royal visit. The status of the highest-ranking person is indicated by the tan cloth placed over the carpet and the voluminous wine-colored cushion ornamented with stylized gold clouds. An attendant holding an emblem of Indian royalty, the fly whisk, stands to one side.
At the far right of the carpet are two books, indicating that they are learned men. Like the carpet, the book covers have central medallions and borders, in line with the Persian aesthetic that the Mughals of India held in high regard.
At the far right of the carpet are two books, indicating that they are learned men. Like the carpet, the book covers have central medallions and borders, in line with the Persian aesthetic that the Mughals of India held in high regard.
Provenance
(Imre Schweiger, London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1920); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1920–)
Accession Number
1920.1966
Medium
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 23.4 x 14.6 cm (9 3/16 x 5 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of J. H. Wade
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Tempera Gold Leaf Paper Persian Color: Orange
Background & Context
Background Story
A Royal Picnic on a Terrace from c. 1620 is attributed to Muhammad Ali, a Mughal painter active during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605-27), depicting a royal picnic in the refined, naturalistic manner that distinguishes Mughal painting at its most accomplished. The painting shows a Mughal ruler and his courtiers picnicking on a terrace in the refined, naturalistic manner that Jahangir's painters developed from the Persian tradition—with the addition of naturalistic observation that distinguishes Mughal painting from its Persian origins. The c. 1620 date places this during Jahangir's reign, when Mughal painting was at its most refined and naturalistic.
Cultural Impact
A Royal Picnic on a Terrace is important in the history of Mughal painting because it demonstrates the refined, naturalistic manner that distinguishes Jahangir's painting from the more formal manner of Akbar's reign and the more decorative manner of Shah Jahan's. The painting shows the Mughal court at leisure in the refined, naturalistic manner that Jahangir's painters developed, creating a type of painting that is simultaneously courtly and intimate—one of the most accomplished traditions in world art.
Why It Matters
A Royal Picnic on a Terrace is Mughal painting at its most refined: a royal picnic rendered in the naturalistic, courtly manner that distinguishes Jahangir's painting from both the more formal Akbar period and the more decorative Shah Jahan period. The c. 1620 painting shows the Mughal court at leisure in one of the most accomplished painting traditions in world art.
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