A Rajput Prince

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An area of just 5x6 inch size is seen creating on it a master portrait in Indian style but with Western portraitural effects. The artist confident of his skills has preferred a simple plain background instead of crowding it with motifs that attributed many more dimensions to the portrayed figure which it did not have otherwise. He has not placed his figure in a harem, palace-room, terrace or court, or in a rich lavish garden with regalia around or a crown on head to define his figure's princely status as would have done any other artist. He neither subordinates his figure to its surroundings nor looks to such surroundings for discovering in them any excellence for his figure. He rather eliminates all that constituted a portrait's surroundings, or atmospheric setting vesting everything in the figure to discover itself against a pale ochre background and define itself and its status. The portrait here, bereft of all bodily actions often used in portraitural art for defining a figure, has packed in the figure itself all that defines it and claims for it the status of a masterpiece.

Elegance is the prime element of the portrayed figure. A simple but elegantly worn turban, neatly and elegantly embroidered shawl decently worn on the shoulder, finely plated loose sky-greyish robe and as elegant a sash knitted beautifully in a mix of magenta-blue floral patterns lying on his right thigh define his princely status and high birth. The casually held sword, a symbol of a person's status, and it's simple leather case mounted with gold foil and thread speak only of his unassuming simplicity. Save two rings on his two fingers he has no jewels or ornaments. This unassuming simplicity better characterizes his status and noble birth than could any silk, jewels, crowns, thrones, or any assumption of high birth. There is in his eyes a dream and concern combined. They mirror in them his intrinsic being. He has a dreamy face which is both thoughtful and robust. The saffron defines his Hindu links, the sword Rajput and his elegance and comely feminine figure his high birth and princely status. In every sense of the term it is a real masterpiece of portraitural art.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.

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