Page 134 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art March 2016 New York

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A PORTRAIT OF MAHARAJA GOPAL SINGH
By Fakir Chand, Kishangarh, dated 1739
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; verso devanagari inscription translated,
‘Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sri Sri Ravatji Sri Gopalsinghji painted by Fakir Chand, Samvat 1796
[month of] Kartik day 7 [27 October 1739]’.
Image: 9 7/8 x 7 1/8 in. (25.1 x 18.1 cm);
Folio: 13 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (34.6 x 25.1 cm)
$20,000 - 30,000
This sumptuous portrait of Gopal Singh, probably the ruler of Karauli (r. 1724-1757), is
composed according to the “Kishangarh formula” established by the Mughal painter
Bhavanidas (flourished, 1700-1750), who in 1719 moved to Kishangarh and became its
highest paid artist.
Here, Gopal Singh is set against a mint green landscape with yonder river and rolling hills.
In the distant right we see sketches of an elephant hunt. The flamboyant sky announces the
arrival of a new day, swelling with gold, orange, yellow, and violet. The nimbate maharaja is
similarly ornate wearing a transparent white jama decorated with golden sprigs and a luxurious
patka of red and green flowers against a gold ground. He bears flowers in both hands,
testifying to his refined sense of beauty, whereas his long sword, sheathed in gold-brocade
scabbard, demonstrates his Rajput valor.
Compare the painting to a 1728 Kishangarh portrait of Raj Singh, attributed to Bhavanidas,
published in Beach (et. al), Masters of Indian Painting, vol, II, Zürich, 2011, p.
539; and a portrait of Sawant Singh of Kishangarh, dated 1745, published in Randhawa,
Kishangarh Painting, Mumbai, 1980, Plate I.
Provenance
Private European Collection since 1970

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