Maharana Jagat Singh Attending the Raslila1736 · Study 2011.141

Context from the museum

To celebrate the New Year festival of Diwali, dancers reenact the life story of the Hindu god Krishna in a palace courtyard by candlelight under the full moon. The king, a vassal of the Mughal emperor, sits with the halo of divine sanction for his rule at the left of the courtyard, smoking from a golden goat-shaped hookah, with his young son and heir at his side. At the top of the composition, a dancer dressed in blue with a peacock-feather crown plays the part of Krishna. In the upper right corner, a canopy painted with swirling storm clouds stands for the rainstorm sent by the jealous king of the gods, who is shown in the middle of the canopy with his consort and mount, the elephant with seven trunks. Guards and grooms in the foreground entertain themselves with music while they wait with the horses of visiting nobles. The formal geometric gardens, playful use of perspective, and individualized portraiture indicate the selective adoption of the styles and sensibilities of the imperial Mughal court in the paintings from this large-format series.

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

A detail to notice

This painting is one of a set of eight.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected sheet measurement for Maharana Jagat Singh Attending the Raslila is 49 cm wide and 67.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 19.3 × 26.6 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.73:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.33 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 16.3% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 125.5 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 Maharana Jagat Singh Attending the Raslila in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 49 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?