A lady singing

Gouache with gold on paper.

Because of the seclusion of women in court society, portraits of ladies are rare in Indian painting. But the artists could observe accessible figures such as the court dancers and musicians. This singing-girl is depicted as a nayika, an ideal heroine according to poetical theory. Her lips parted in song, she plucks a green tanpura which bisects the page. Her arching eyebrow and elongated eye typify the ideal of physical beauty developed at Kishangarh.

To view a high-resolution version of this image and for further information please visit the Yousef Jameel Online Centre at the Ashmolean.