A woman mistakes a cow for the Angel of Death, from a Lights of Canopus (Anwar-i Suhaili) of Kashifi (Iranian, d. 1504)c. 1610 · Study 2019.81

Context from the museum

In this gently colored, amply shaded painting, an ailing girl lies listless, eyes barely open, as an attendant fans her. A cow who got her head stuck in a pot has entered the yard in confusion. The girl’s mother, who had been weeping and praying to exchange her own life for the health of her daughter, thought the Angel of Death had come to take her. Pointing to heaven, the woman begs that her daughter be taken instead. Outside the gate, a wandering holy man dozes, indicating this scene takes place in the evening, and a calf annoys her mother as she eats.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

A previous owner identified the scene as the first cesarean section.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting measurement for A woman mistakes a cow for the Angel of Death, from a Lights of Canopus (Anwar-i Suhaili) of Kashifi (Iranian, d. 1504) is 10.2 cm wide and 19.7 cm high, equivalent to approximately 4.0 × 7.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.52:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.02 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 3.4% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 144.9 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With A woman mistakes a cow for the Angel of Death, from a Lights of Canopus (Anwar-i Suhaili) of Kashifi (Iranian, d. 1504) in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Gum tempera on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 10.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?