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[[File:Daulat. Portrait of Bishandas. ca. 1610, Detail of the border illumination of the list from Golestan Palace Library, Tehran..jpg|thumb|Portrait of Bishandas by [[Daulat (Mughal painter)|Daulat]], c. 1610, detail of the border illumination, [[Golestan Palace]] Library, Tehran]]
{{Short description|Mughal miniature painter}}
{{Infobox artist
| image            = Detail of the artist Bishandas, from a illustrated folio containing a self-portrait of the artist Daulat and portraits of the artists Govardhan, Bishandas, Manohar, Abu'l-Hasan, by Daulat, ca.1610.jpg
| patrons          = Jahangir and Shah Abbas I
| style            = Mughal
| caption          = Portrait of Bishandas by [[Daulat (Mughal painter)|Daulat]], c. 1610, detail of the border illumination, [[Golestan Palace]] Library, Tehran
}}


'''Bishandas''' was a 17th-century [[Mughal painter]] at the court of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Jahangir]], specializing in portraits.  Jahangir praised him as "unrivalled in the art of portraiture". Though little is known of Bishandas’ life, his name suggests he was a [[Hindu]], like several others in the imperial workshop. In 1613 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to [[Persia]], to paint the portraits of Shah [[Abbas I of Persia]] and other leading Persian figures. Here he was so successful that he remained until 1620, and on his return Jahangir gave him an elephant.<ref>Crill and Jariwala, 88</ref>
'''Bishandas''', also '''Bishan Das''' or '''Bishn Das''', was a 17th-century [[Mughal painter]] at the court of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Jahangir]] (1569–1627), specializing in portraits. Though little is known of Bishandas’ life, his name suggests he was a [[Hindu]], like several others in the imperial workshop.  


<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Bishandas had the reputation of being unequalled for his ability to create a realistic likeness of his models.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mahajan |first1=V. D. |title=History of Medieval India |date=2007 |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |isbn=978-81-219-0364-6 |page=263 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMWSQuf4oSIC&pg=RA2-PA263 |language=en}}</ref> He created realistic court and battle scenes. Jahangir especially sponsored realistic paintings and accurate portraiture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mahajan |first1=V. D. |title=History of Medieval India |date=2007 |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |isbn=978-81-219-0364-6 |page=263 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMWSQuf4oSIC&pg=RA2-PA263 |language=en |quote=There were certain characteristic features of the paintings of Janangir's reign. (...) There was also the depiction of real human beings rather than imaginary figures in the portrait studies of the time. The portrait painters of Jahangir's time were not only keen observers of human features, but had a sharp eye for different moods and expressions.}}</ref> He praised Bishandas as "unrivalled in the art of portraiture".
 
Jahangir was so keen on obtaining realistic depictions of his contemporaries, possibly as a way to better understand their character and intentions, that in 1613 Bishandas was sent to accompany on a diplomatic mission to [[Persia]] led by [[Khan ‘Alam]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quinn |first1=Sholeh |title=Shah Abbas: The King Who Refashioned Iran |date=6 August 2015 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-78074-568-8 |page=110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBy9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT110 |language=en}}</ref> to paint the portraits of Shah [[Abbas I of Persia]] (1571–1629) and other leading Persian figures such as Abbas's second son [[Soltan Mohammad Mirza]], [[Saru Taqi]] or [[Isa Khan Safavi|Isa Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balabanlilar |first1=Lisa |title=The Emperor Jahangir: Power and Kingship in Mughal India |date=16 April 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-044-0 |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UnTQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="LC32">{{cite book |last1=Pal |first1=Pratapaditya |title=Indian Painting, Volume 1 |date=1993 |publisher=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |page=32 |isbn=978-0-8109-3465-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/indianpaintingca01palp/page/32/mode/2up}}</ref> There he was so successful that he remained until 1620, and on his return Jahangir gave him an elephant.<ref>Crill and Jariwala, 88</ref>
 
The portraits of the period are known to have been painted from life, because of the direct sketches made of their subjects, and because of the realistic, non-idealized, style their adopted. Bishandas was clearly influenced by the realistic European portraits he had seen in miniatures and engravings.<ref name="LC32"/> Still, his creations were to some extent hampered by technical conventions, such as the regular need for full-length portraits, which gave less importance to the depiction of the face itself compared to European portraits, or the regular requirement to paint in profile.<ref name="LC32"/>
 
== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Recto- "Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh Rathor", verso- Page of Calligraphy. Folio from the Shah Jahan Album MET DT200625 (cropped).jpg|Portrait of Raja [[Sur Singh|Suraj Singh]] of [[Jodhpur]], Jahangir's brother in law.<ref>[https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/454620 Metropolitan page]</ref>
File:Recto- "Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh Rathor", verso- Page of Calligraphy. Folio from the Shah Jahan Album MET DT200625 (cropped).jpg|Portrait of Raja [[Sur Singh|Suraj Singh]] of [[Jodhpur]], Jahangir's brother in law.<ref>[https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/454620 Metropolitan page]</ref>
File:Bishan Das. Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, ca 1610, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi -.jpg|Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, c. 1610
File:Bishan Das. Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, ca 1610, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi -.jpg|Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, c. 1610
File:Bishan Das. The Birth of Prince, ca 1610-15, Page from Jahangirnama, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg|The Birth of a Prince, c. 1610-15, from a ''Jahangirnama'' (''[[Tuzk-e-Jahangiri]]'')
File:Bishan Das. The Birth of Prince, ca 1610-15, Page from Jahangirnama, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg|The Birth of a Prince, c. 1610–15, from a ''Jahangirnama'' (''[[Tuzk-e-Jahangiri]]'')
File:Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Emperor Jahangir, about 1627.jpg|[[Nur Jahan]] holding a portrait of [[Jahangir]], c. 1627 (detail)
File:Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Emperor Jahangir, about 1627.jpg|[[Nur Jahan]] holding a portrait of [[Jahangir]], c. 1627 (detail)
File:Vasiṣṭha Greets Shiva and Parvati.jpg|[[Vasishtha|Vasiṣṭha]] Greets [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]], c. 1602
File:Portraits of Shah Abbas I by Bishandas (1615-1620).jpg|Portraits of [[Shah Abbas I]] by Bishandas (1615-1620).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Floor |first1=Willem |last2=Sajadi |first2=Forough |title=Jan Lucasz. van Hasselt: A Dutch Painter in Safavid Isfahan |journal=Iranian Studies |date=July 2021 |volume=54 |issue=3–4 |pages=399–426 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1787127}}</ref>
</gallery>
</gallery>


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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Mughal painters]]
[[Category:Painters from the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Court painters]]
[[Category:Court painters]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:Indian male painters]]
[[Category:Indian male painters]]
[[Category:17th-century Mughal Empire people]]

Latest revision as of 01:07, 7 July 2025


Bishandas
Portrait of Bishandas by Daulat, c. 1610, detail of the border illumination, Golestan Palace Library, Tehran
StyleMughal
Patron(s)Jahangir and Shah Abbas I

Bishandas, also Bishan Das or Bishn Das, was a 17th-century Mughal painter at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627), specializing in portraits. Though little is known of Bishandas’ life, his name suggests he was a Hindu, like several others in the imperial workshop.

Bishandas had the reputation of being unequalled for his ability to create a realistic likeness of his models.[1] He created realistic court and battle scenes. Jahangir especially sponsored realistic paintings and accurate portraiture.[2] He praised Bishandas as "unrivalled in the art of portraiture".

Jahangir was so keen on obtaining realistic depictions of his contemporaries, possibly as a way to better understand their character and intentions, that in 1613 Bishandas was sent to accompany on a diplomatic mission to Persia led by Khan ‘Alam,[3] to paint the portraits of Shah Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629) and other leading Persian figures such as Abbas's second son Soltan Mohammad Mirza, Saru Taqi or Isa Khan.[4][5] There he was so successful that he remained until 1620, and on his return Jahangir gave him an elephant.[6]

The portraits of the period are known to have been painted from life, because of the direct sketches made of their subjects, and because of the realistic, non-idealized, style their adopted. Bishandas was clearly influenced by the realistic European portraits he had seen in miniatures and engravings.[5] Still, his creations were to some extent hampered by technical conventions, such as the regular need for full-length portraits, which gave less importance to the depiction of the face itself compared to European portraits, or the regular requirement to paint in profile.[5]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6.
  2. ↑ Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6. There were certain characteristic features of the paintings of Janangir's reign. (...) There was also the depiction of real human beings rather than imaginary figures in the portrait studies of the time. The portrait painters of Jahangir's time were not only keen observers of human features, but had a sharp eye for different moods and expressions.
  3. ↑ Quinn, Sholeh (6 August 2015). Shah Abbas: The King Who Refashioned Iran. Simon and Schuster. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-78074-568-8.
  4. ↑ Balabanlilar, Lisa (16 April 2020). The Emperor Jahangir: Power and Kingship in Mughal India. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-83860-044-0.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Pal, Pratapaditya (1993). Indian Painting, Volume 1. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-8109-3465-8.
  6. ↑ Crill and Jariwala, 88
  7. ↑ Metropolitan page
  8. ↑ Floor, Willem; Sajadi, Forough (July 2021). "Jan Lucasz. van Hasselt: A Dutch Painter in Safavid Isfahan". Iranian Studies. 54 (3–4): 399–426. doi:10.1080/00210862.2020.1787127.

References[edit | edit source]

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