The Brahman gives an account of his falling in love with the king of Babylon’s daughter to his friend, the magician, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Nightc. 1560 · Study 1962.279.231.b

Context from the museum

The figure in orange is a magician addressing a seated Brahman—a member of India’s Hindu priestly class—who has come to him for help. He and the princess of Babylon have fallen in love and want to be together, but she is sequestered in the palace harem. The magician transformed the Brahman into a woman, shown at left, walking toward the palace. This is an example of continuous narration, in which two scenes are depicted in the same picture plane. The garden with flowering trees in the background evokes the setting where the Brahman and the princess met and fell in love.

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

A detail to notice

Brahmans wear a sacred thread across their upper bodies, over the left shoulder and under the right arm.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting only measurement for The Brahman gives an account of his falling in love with the king of Babylon’s daughter to his friend, the magician, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Night is 10.2 cm wide and 9.7 cm high, equivalent to approximately 4.0 × 3.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.05:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.01 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 The Brahman gives an account of his falling in love with the king of Babylon’s daughter to his friend, the magician, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Night in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal 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?