Jai Singh III of Jaipur (r. 1818–1835) Riding
Unknown Artist
c. 1820
Medium
Gum tempera and ink on paper
Dimensions
10 × 14.3 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1925.1337
About this artwork
In contrast to imperial Mughal painting and Western portraiture, native or Rajput Indian portraits are simpler and more monumental in design, standing essentially as symbols of general ideas. Here the Rajput ruler sits unaffected by the gallop of his mount, with the trappings of a warrior and the devotional marks of a follower of the Hindu god Vishnu on his forehead. He is depicted as an ideal warrior king, pious, in full control, gazing ahead abstractly as though seeing an immutable truth.