Bishandas

Bishandas was a 17th-century Mughal painter at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627), 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 (1571–1629) and other leading Persian figures. Here he was so successful that he remained until 1620, and on his return Jahangir gave him an elephant.^[1]

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  Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh of Jodhpur, Jahangir's brother in law.^[2]
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  Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, c. 1610
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  The Birth of a Prince, c. 1610–15, from a Jahangirnama (Tuzk-e-Jahangiri)
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  Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Jahangir, c. 1627 (detail)
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  Vasiṣṭha Greets Shiva and Parvati, c. 1602

Notes

References

• Crill, Rosemary, and Jariwala, Kapil. The Indian Portrait, 1560–1860, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2010, ISBN 9781855144095