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{{Short description|Painting by Hashim and Abu'l-Hasan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{infobox artwork
| image = 15 Abu'l Hasan, Jahangir with a Potrait of Akbar. 1614г Musee Guimet, Paris - копия.jpg
| artist = Hashim, [[Abu'l-Hasan (artist)|Abu'l-Hasan]]
| year = {{circa|1599–1614}}
| museum = [[Louvre]]
| city = Paris
}}
'''''Jahangir with a Portrait of Akbar''''' is a [[Mughal painting]], by the artists Hashim and [[Abu'l-Hasan (artist)|Abu'l Hasan]]. It was commissioned by the Mughal emperor [[Jahangir]] in the early 17th century. It depicts Jahangir, holding a portrait of his father and predecessor [[Akbar]]. It is now in the [[Louvre]] in Paris within the Department of Islamic Art.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Goswamy |first=B. N. |author-link=B. N. Goswamy |date=27 October 2013 |title=The imperial image: Under the discerning eye of Mughal emperor Jahangir, master painters produced great paintings, besides portryaing him as an unusual man |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131027/spectrum/main2.htm |access-date=16 November 2025 |website=www.tribuneindia.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Citation |mode=cs1 |last=Hashim |first=Mir |title=Portrait de l'empereur Jahangir tenant dans ses mains celui de son père, l'empereur Akbar (page d'album) |date=1600 |url=https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010327537 |access-date=3 February 2026 |last2=al-Hasan |first2=Abu}}</ref>

==Background==
The Mughal emperor [[Jahangir]] succeeded his father [[Akbar]] in 1605. Prior to his accession, during the final years of the reign of Akbar, Jahangir rebelled against his father and set up an alternative court at [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

The year of the painting's completion is not exactly known, and various clues point to different dates. It is known from the inscriptions on the painting that the work was executed by two artists, [[Mir Hashim (artist)|Mir Hashim]] and [[Abu'l-Hasan (artist)|Abu'l Hasan]]. The latter is not referred to by name, but by his title, that is, "''Nadir al-Zaman''" (wonder of the age). Another inscription states that the portrait of Jahangir was made in his thirtieth year. This would be in 1599, before the accession of Jahangir, and during the reign of Akbar. Yet another inscription states that the depiction of Akbar (d. 1605) is posthumous. Furthermore, the depiction of Jahangir shows him wearing earrings, and he is known to have pierced his ears in 1614. Finally, the title of "''Nadir al-Zaman''" was conferred upon Abu'l-Hasan before 1614. [[Kavita Singh (scholar)|Kavita Singh]] therefore speculates that the painting was retouched, with the posthumous image of Akbar added later.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Das |first=Asok |date=1 January 1980 |title=Mughal Painting during Jahangir's Time |url=https://www.academia.edu/90891267/Mughal_Painting_during_Jahangirs_Time |journal=Artibus Asiae |pages=381–382}}</ref>

As for the inspiration behind its commissioning, Kavita Singh speculates that it might have been commissioned after a dream of Jahangir, as recounted in his autobiography the [[Tuzk-e-Jahangiri|Jahangirnama]], where his father Akbar appeared in his dream and asked him to forgive [[Mirza Aziz Koka]], a nobleman imprisoned by Jahangir for treason.<ref name=":0" />

==Description==
[[File:Detail_of_"Jahangir_With_a_Portrait_of_Akbar",_Musee_Guimet.jpg|thumb|According to [[Kavita Singh (scholar)|Kavita Singh]], Jahangir appearing to be listening reverently, as the portrait of Akbar speaks to him.]]
The principal subject, set against a blue-green background, is the emperor Jahangir. He is holding, with both hands, a portrait of his father and predecessor, the emperor Akbar.<ref name=":0" />

Both emperors have a [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]] around them, that symbolizes the divine right to rule. Furthermore, Jahangir's familial resemblance to his father reinforces his legitimacy as his father's rightful successor. At the bottom of both portraits are textiles which indicate that both portraits are in the form of [[Jharokha Darshan|''jharokha''-''darshan'']], a practice where the emperor would appear in a window, so that their subjects might glimpse them. The fact that both emperors are the subject of a ''jharokha-darshan'' may symbolize that both emperors are reigning, Jahangir in the current world, and Akbar in the afterlife.<ref name=":0" />

=== Jahangir ===
Jahangir is dressed in a ''[[Jama (coat)|jama]]'' made out of golden [[brocade]], with a matching turban. He wears strings of pearls studded with rubies and emeralds. Contrasting with other paintings of Jahangir where he is depicted looking down, here, he holds the painting up with respect, and is looking forward. His body is stiff. Kavita Singh interprets this as Jahangir appearing to be listening reverently, as the portrait of Akbar speaks to him.<ref name=":0" />

A cloth below him is wine-coloured, with an ogive in the middle, with a bird on either side. Two full and two partial human figures are also seen on the cloth. These figures appear central Asian, wearing brightly coloured tunics. This alludes to Jahangir's Central Asian ancestry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Houghteling |first=Sylvia |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Art_of_Cloth_in_Mughal_India/9VpDEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Emperor+Jahangir+holding+a+portrait+of+his+father%22&pg=PA91&printsec=frontcover |title=The Art of Cloth in Mughal India |date=15 March 2022 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-23213-3 |pages=90-91 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Akbar ===
In the portrait, Akbar is dressed in white. This contrasts with Jahangir's lavish attire and is reminiscent of the simple garb worn by [[Sufism|Sufi]] saints. It also symbolizes that the late emperor has transcended the material realm. In his hand, Akbar is holding an orb that is interpreted as a [[globe]], as if he is going to hand it over to Jahangir. The globe represents the right to rule, and is also an allusion to the meaning of "Jahangir", that is, "world-seizer". Upon the globe, an inscription reads, "The portrait of the venerable one who is nesting in [[Jannah|paradise]], the work of ''[[Abu'l-Hasan (artist)|Nadir al-Zaman]]''". This confirms that the depiction of Akbar is posthumous.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Kavita |date=18 July 2021 |title=As Jahangir contemplates a portrait of his father, a reversal of our ideas about dreams and reality |url=https://scroll.in/article/1000463/as-jahagir-contemplates-a-portrait-of-his-father-a-reversal-of-our-ideas-about-dreams-and-reality |access-date=16 November 2025 |website=Scroll.in |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Goswamy |first=B. N. |author-link=B. N. Goswamy |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Spirit_of_Indian_Painting/1-rfrQEACAAJ?hl=en |title=The Spirit of Indian Painting: Close Encounters with 101 Great Works, 1100–1900 |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-670-08657-3 |pages=318−321 |language=en}}</ref>

== Acquisition history and critical reception ==
The Louvre purchased this painting from Elisa Haughton, along with several other Indian artworks, in 1894.<ref name=":3" />

[[B. N. Goswamy]] refers to the painting as "a dazzling work, highly accomplished and quite moving".<ref name=":2" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Indian paintings]]
[[Category:Paintings in the Louvre]]
[[Category:Mughal art]]
[[Category:Islamic art in the Louvre]]
[[Category:Indian artefacts held abroad]]

Jahangir with a Portrait of Akbar - Revision history

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