Melancholy Courtesan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Of the several pictures of this type that are known, this example is the finest. No inscription identifies the subject, but the painting is probably the idealized portrait of a courtesan. She has raised a small cup to her lips and seems lost in reverie. Her melancholy may be due simply to alcohol, but it is more likely that she was associated with a particular story that has not come down to us. The practice of making images of courtesans migrated from Persia into the artistic repertoire of Muslim India and from there to Hindu painting. This compositional formula derives from Mughal prototypes, but the handling of color, pattern, and space is purely Rajput.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art