CallGirlMumbai: Creating Basic Bio From Scratch

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Creating Basic Bio From Scratch

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{{Short description|Sikh artist}}
{{Infobox artist
| honorific_prefix = Baba
| name = Bishan Singh
| image = Self-portrait by artist Baba Bishan Singh.jpg
| caption = Self-portrait
| style = [[Sikh art|Sikh School]]
| known_for = Painting
| birth_date = 1836
| death_date = circa 1900
| notable_works = ''The Court of Ranjit Singh'' (ca.1864)
| children = Nihal Singh<br>Jawahar Singh
}}

'''Bishan Singh''' (1836 – ca.1900<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Narula |first=S. S. |title=Aspects of Punjabi Culture |publisher=Department of Development of Punjabi Language, Punjabi University |year=1995 |pages=99}}</ref>), also known as '''Baba Bishan Singh''', was a [[Sikh painting|Sikh painter]] whom achieved high-acclaim during his life.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bishan Singh |url=https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Bishan-Singh/8BE4D870DADC8634/Biography |access-date=9 September 2024 |website=Mutual Art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis E. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780199699308 |pages=427 |chapter=Sikh Art}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Desvergnes |first=Amélie Couvrat |date=22 December 2022 |title=Change of Posture and Materials Among Nineteenth-Century South Asian Painters |url=https://amelieconservation.com/2022/12/26/change-of-posture-and-materials-in-nineteenth-century-south-asian-painters/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |website=Amélie Conservation}}</ref> Much of his surviving works depicts scenes from the Sikh Empire and prominent figures of the era.<ref name=":54">{{Cite web |last=Desvergnes |first=Amélie Couvrat |date=22 December 2022 |title=Change of Posture and Materials Among Nineteenth-Century South Asian Painters |url=https://amelieconservation.com/2022/12/26/change-of-posture-and-materials-in-nineteenth-century-south-asian-painters/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |website=Amélie Conservation}}</ref> His paintings have sold for large sums at auction.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Curtis |first=Joseph |date=6 May 2016 |title=19th Century Sikh Painting by Bishan Singh Originally Bought for US $58 Fetches US $133,500 |url=https://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?id=6411&cat=1 |access-date=9 September 2024 |website=sikhchic}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Kinsella |first=Eileen |date=10 November 2025 |title=$1.3 Million Sikh Masterwork Smashes Records as Demand for South Asian Art Surges: A 19th-century painting by Bishan Singh tripled its estimate at Sotheby's London |url=https://news.artnet.com/market/work-of-the-week-bishan-singh-2710973 |access-date=13 November 2025 |work=Artnet News}}</ref>

== Biography ==
[[File:Self-portrait in-frame of Bishan Singh, from a painting of Sikh Empire-era Amritsar from the 19th century, by Baba Bishan Singh (cropped).jpg|thumb|Self-portrait of Bishan Singh, detail from a painting of Sikh Empire-era Amritsar from the 19th century]]
Bishan Singh was born in 1836 into a [[Ramgarhia]] family of artists that flourished in the 19th century who operated in Lahore and Amritsar.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Court of Ranjit Singh |url=http://www.sikhfoundation.org/rsingh.html |access-date=9 September 2024 |website=The Sikh Foundation}}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Cite web |last=Desvergnes |first=Amélie Couvrat |date=22 December 2022 |title=Change of Posture and Materials Among Nineteenth-Century South Asian Painters |url=https://amelieconservation.com/2022/12/26/change-of-posture-and-materials-in-nineteenth-century-south-asian-painters/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |website=Amélie Conservation}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Srivastava |first=R. P. |title=Punjab Painting |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1983 |isbn=9788170171744 |pages=52}}</ref> He had a brother, whom also was an artist, named [[Kishan Singh (artist)|Kishan Singh]].<ref name=":2" /> His family operated in Lahore and Amritsar and were responsible for maintaining murals and motifs decorating the edifices of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":53">{{Cite web |last=Desvergnes |first=Amélie Couvrat |date=22 December 2022 |title=Change of Posture and Materials Among Nineteenth-Century South Asian Painters |url=https://amelieconservation.com/2022/12/26/change-of-posture-and-materials-in-nineteenth-century-south-asian-painters/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |website=Amélie Conservation}}</ref> It is likely Bishan Singh learnt his trade through this traditional, familial upbringing amongst artists.<ref name=":2" /> Bhai Bishan Singh was both the pupil and nephew of [[Kehar Singh (artist)|Kehar Singh]].''<ref name=":102">{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Maneet |date=5 December 2018 |title=Mohrakashi and the Naqqashes of Harmandir Sahib - Overview |url=https://www.sahapedia.org/mohrakashi-and-the-naqqashes-of-harmandir-sahib |website=Sahapedia}}</ref>''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=G.S. Sohan |title=Bhai Gian Singh Naqash |url=http://art-heritage.com/bhai-gian-singh-naqash/ |website=G.S. Sohan Singh Artist Memorial Trust (art-heritage.com)}}</ref> Many of Bishan Singh's paintings feature scenery and personalities from the period of the [[Sikh Empire]], such as [[Ranjit Singh|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]].<ref name=":2" /> His paintings are remarkable for this close attention to detail and accuracy, such as buildings being portrayed exactly as they had existed in real-life in his era and ensuring to paint an extra digit when depicting [[Dhian Singh]].<ref name=":2" /> However, Bishan Singh was a devout Sikh, which may have led him to omit important foreign, European figures from Ranjit Singh's court from his paintings, as he may felt it would impair the work.<ref name=":2" />

In 1866, ten of Bishan Singh's works were displayed at the exhibition of arts and crafts held at Lahore.<ref name=":2" /> Baden-Powell and Percy Brown levied the following observations and critiques of Bishan Singh's work after viewing them at the exhibition:<ref name=":2" />
{{Blockquote|text=... the perspective of the buildings is incorrect but the figure drawing is admirable. The colour is tasteful and rich and likenesses are good and the expression is varied and truthful.|author=Baden Henry Baden-Powell|title=''Handbook of the Manufactures and Arts of the Punjab'' (Lahore; 1872)|source=pages 354–355}}Bishan Singh had two sons who became artists, Nihal Singh and Jawahar Singh.<ref name=":20">{{Cite journal |last=Kaur |first=Sukhandeep |last2=Viranjan |first2=Ram |date=January–June 2023 |title=A Historical Overview of Emergence and Development of Sikh Art in Punjab |url=https://www.granthaalayahpublication.org/Arts-Journal/ShodhKosh/article/download/293/408/3680 |journal=ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=389–402 |doi=10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i1.2023.293 |eissn=2582-7472 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Bishan Singh also was the art teacher of his two sons, Nihal Singh and Jawahar Singh.''<ref name=":102" />'' Bishan Singh had a nephew named [[Kapur Singh (artist)|Kapur Singh]] (son of his brother, Kishan Singh), who became a successful artist in his own right.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lot 218: Kapur Singh of Amristar attributed, study of a glassblower, circa 1880, gouache on paper, within mauve border, 16.2 x 11.2cm. |url=https://www.roseberys.co.uk/a0541-lot-522454 |access-date=9 September 2024 |website=Roseberys}}</ref>

== Style ==
Bishan Singh's style included vivid greens, yellows, and blues.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Lot 216: Bishan Singh (1836-1900) attributed, Worshippers at a shrine, probably Amritsar, North India, circa 1880, gouache on paper heightened with gold, 35 x 22cm. |url=https://www.roseberys.co.uk/a0541-lot-522452 |access-date=9 September 2024 |website=Roseberys}}</ref> Meticulous detail was placed upon the depicted scene, especially regarding figures, botany, and architecture.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Lot 217: Bishan Singh (1836-1900) attributed, Holy Man, North India,1870-80, opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, depicted standing in a sparse landscape with attention to details of the figures costume and turban elements, painting 22 x 15.5cm.; folio 29 x 21.1cm. |url=https://www.roseberys.co.uk/a0541-lot-522453 |access-date=9 September 2024 |website=Roseberys}}</ref> He often depicted tradespeople living their daily lives.<ref name=":4" /> Bishan Singh was influenced by the [[Company style|Company School]].<ref name=":4" /> Furthermore, he came under the influence of the style of [[Realism (arts)|realism]] that had been introduced by the Europeans.<ref name=":4" /> Bishan Singh was skilled in arabesque and was responsible for the commencement of fresh and bright brush strokes.''<ref name=":102" />'' Bishan Singh was talented in depicting courtly ''[[Durbar (court)|durbar]]'' scenery.<ref name=":202">{{Cite journal |last=Kaur |first=Sukhandeep |last2=Viranjan |first2=Ram |date=January–June 2023 |title=A Historical Overview of Emergence and Development of Sikh Art in Punjab |url=https://www.granthaalayahpublication.org/Arts-Journal/ShodhKosh/article/download/293/408/3680 |journal=ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=389–402 |doi=10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i1.2023.293 |eissn=2582-7472 |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, his self-portrait differs in-style greatly from his durbar painting, with his self-portrait showing strong European and Western influence, where he uses the standard codes of European portraiture.<ref name=":52" /> In his self-portrait, the material and mode he utilized was watercolour on cardboard, with him facing and looking directly at the viewer from the front, with his physical characteristics and facial features portrayed as aged and realistic, which is in-line with the Western method of portraiture.<ref name=":52" />

== Legacy ==
Bishan Singh's surviving works have gone on auction numerous times.<ref name=":0" /> One of his paintings of the durbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh sold at a Christie's London auction for US$580,021 in 2022.<ref name=":0" />

One of his paintings was bought decades ago in North London by a taxi driver, who haggled the price down to £40 ($58).<ref name=":1" /> The taxi driver, who did not realize or know the true worth of the painting he possessed for all those years, would sell it decades later for £92,250 (US$133,500) at a Roseberys auction.<ref name=":1" /> In an October 2025 auction by [[Sotheby's|Sotheby’s London]], the painting ''Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Procession, Riding on an Elephant Through a Bazaar'' (ca.1860–70) by Bishan Singh was purchased for £952,000 (1.3 million USD) by an unnamed institution, setting a new record for Sikh artwork.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=Lot 220: Maharaja Ranjit Singh in procession, riding on an elephant through a bazaar, by Bishan Singh, North India, Amritsar or Lahore, circa 1860-70 |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/arts-of-the-islamic-world-india-l25223/maharaja-ranjit-singh-in-procession-riding-on-an |access-date=13 November 2025 |website=Sotheby's}}</ref>

Much of the surviving works of Bishan Singh are in private collections, such as the Toor and Kapany collections.<ref name=":3" />

== Exhibitions ==

* ''Punjab Exhibition of Arts and Industry'' (London; 1864)<ref name=":1" />

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:'Royal Procession of Maharaja Sher Singh and His Sons', by Bishan Singh, ca.1870.jpg|'Royal Procession of Maharaja Sher Singh and His Sons', by Bishan Singh, ca.1870
File:Painting of Sikh Empire-era Amritsar from the 19th century, by Baba Bishan Singh.jpg|Painting of Sikh Empire-era Amritsar from the 19th century, by Bishan Singh
File:'Guru Prakash', painting of all the Sikh gurus and their followers from Gurdwara Ramsar by Bishan Singh, circa 19th century.jpg|'Guru Prakash', painting of all the Sikh gurus and their followers from Gurdwara Ramsar by Bishan Singh, circa 19th century
File:Painting of the the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ca.1864.jpg|Painting of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, by Bishan Singh, ca.1864
File:View of Srinagar 1872.jpg|View of Srinagar, by Bishan Singh, 1872
File:'Ladies Escorted in a Horse-Drawn Carriage', by Bishan Singh, ca.1860's.jpg|'Ladies Escorted in a Horse-Drawn Carriage', by Bishan Singh, ca.1860's
File:A shawl weaver's shop, by Bishan Singh, likely Amritsar, ca.1874–75.jpg|A shawl weaver's shop, by Bishan Singh, likely Amritsar, ca.1874–75
</gallery>

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:1836 births]]
[[Category:1900s deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian male artists]]

Bishan Singh (artist) - Revision history

CallGirlMumbai: Creating Basic Bio From Scratch