Akbar Crossing Ganges /

Overview sentence?

Akbar Crossing the Ganges (1600), Ikhlas & Madhu, Watercolour & Gold on paper, (33.4 × 19cm), commissioned by Akbar, located in V&A.

Artists?

Ikhlas & Madhu

Dimensions?

33.4 × 19cm

Date?

1600

Location?

V&A

Composition: AKBAR

• Upper register

• Arm outstretched to guide followers.

• Riding Elephant

• Surrounded by frantic river scene - horses, soldiers & elephants.

Composition key points?

• Space taken up by raging water - small strip in background of fertile land & Sakit (town) in Uttar Pradesh.

• Balanced, carefully organised.

• Elephants = unify structure chaos.

• Cropped at edges - shows size of army.

Colour key points?

• Naturalistic - accurate reportage.

• Rich & intense - splendour of Akbar’s courtly retinue & might of imperial army.

• Structures composition - russet cloth covers elephant is repeated in right corner & in clothing of soldiers in horizontal line beneath.

Pictorial space key points?

• Cramped - except watery space around Akbar

• Shallow planes overlap soldiers & animals (divided by rising waves).

• Flat & sense of recessional scale in background = smaller buildings in distance & use of perspective/foreshortening in domestic structures.

Light & tone key points?

• Evenly diffused light - lit from front.

• Little tonal modelling/gradation of tone.

• Illumination - white/pale grey.

• White = crests of waves - motion/energy.

Form key points?

• Figures = crisp outline.

• Surface pattern & decoration flattens forms e.g. patches on horses.

• Depth in landscape - banks give sense of mass - tonal contrast & thicker outlines.

Line key points?

• Strong focus - heavily linear style & sharply delineated figures in tradition of book illustration.

• Sinuous & elegant poses in Akbar & army = courtly & refined.

Scale key points?

• Miniature tradition - minute detail & surface decoration - sense of preciousness.

• Hierarchical scale (importance) - Akbar = largest figure, rides largest elephant.

• Naturalistic proportion = realism.

Texture, pattern, ornamentation key points?

• Flattened form/shallow space = surface pattern & design as dominant = Persian tradition.

• Floral pattern focus - lavish, courtly.

• Golden ornaments/jewels - wealth of empire.

Annette Hagdorn source?

“Meant to document events as accurately as possible”

Owen Jones source?

“Everything serves a purpose”

Mughal Empire context?

• Major Indian empire = 16th - end 18th century.

• Believed emperors gained power from height of Allah.

• Divine right to rule w total authority.

How was Persian miniature tradition brought to India?

• Babur (founder) descended from Afghanistan & brought this tradition to India.

• Established a unique style of Mughal art & architecture.

What was Akbar like?

• Tolerant & open minded.

• Treated Hindu’s well - married Hindu Princess in 1562.

• Celebrated intellectual curiosity - hosted variety of religions in his court e.g. Zoroastrians, Jains, Muslims & Hindu’s.

Context with Rajput Kingdoms?

• At war with one another along India’s western borders = difficult to pacify.

• Akbar used imagery/architecture to assert his authority.

What was this image inspired by?

‘Akbarnama’ - commissioned in 1589 by Abu IFazi Allami (historian).

Style of painting context?

• Hamayun (his father) brought painters from Iranian court to Delhi.

• Style incorporates blend of Hindu, Chinese & European traditions - representation of techniques from Chinese & European sources.

• Tracing - artists created stock of sketches/tracing prior to completion.

• After watercolour, it was burnished with polished crystal e.g. agate.

• 50 days to complete.

How was depiction of animals/humans justified?

• Although he was Muslim, he believed they deepened the faith & religious fervour of his people.

• Akbar’s descendent = Jahangir (1569-1627) developed portrait miniatures further e.g. Al-Mansur’s ‘Turkey Cock’ (1605-24).

• Style = v successful until end of 16th C.