ARTIST

Basawan

Master painter of Mughal Emperor Akbar's atelier who brought Persian and Indian traditions together on the page.

ABOUT

Basawan was one of the most celebrated painters working in the imperial atelier of Mughal Emperor Akbar during the late 16th century. Though biographical details about his birth and early life remain elusive, his artistic legacy speaks volumes through the remarkable paintings he created for some of the most ambitious illustrated manuscripts of the era. Working during what many consider the golden age of Mughal painting, Basawan helped establish the distinctive visual languag…

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NOTABLE WORKS
The monkey slain, his blood to be used as medicine for the ailing prince he has bitten, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night 1555 · Cleveland Museum of Art The hunter offers the mother parrot to the king of Kamarupa, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night 1560 · Cleveland Museum of Art The donkey, in a tiger’s skin, reveals his identity by braying aloud, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-first Night 1560 · Cleveland Museum of Art The hunter throws away the baby parrots, who pretend to be dead, and captures the mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night 1560 · Cleveland Museum of Art Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page 1560 · Cleveland Museum of Art Mihrdukht aims her arrow at the ring 1570 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
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INFLUENCES
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