A PRINCE CONVERSES WITH A SAGEATTRIBUTED TO GOVARDHAN, MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1605A PRINCE CONVERSES WITH A SAGEATTRIBUTED TO GOVARDHAN, MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1605Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper set between black and gold rules, a strip of plain paper above and below, mounted in later pink paper margins, the reverse with Mughal royal library stampsPainting 6 x 3 1/2in. (15.2 x 8.8cm.); folio 8 1/2 x 5 3/8in. (21.8 x 13.7cm.)THE LUDWIG HABIGHORST COLLECTIONThe collecting and study of Indian painting has been central to the life of Ludwig Habighorst. This lifelong journey and passion was ignited by a chance encounter with Indian miniatures some fifty years ago. Driven by his eye rather than a purely academic approach, collecting has been a creative and sensual process for the professor of Radiology. The Ludwig Habighorst Collection encompasses fine examples of Mughal, Pahari and Deccani painting from some of the great masters of their age. It spans a great breadth of subjects but particularly leans towards his interest in the visual expression of human nature replete with its many vicissitudes. Since this journey began, Ludwig Habighorst has been responsible for authoring many important books and articles on the subject of Indian painting and the works from his collection have been showcased around the world in numerous exhibitions at major institutions.A PRINCE CONVERSES WITH A SAGEThe painter Govardhan was one of the leading artists of the Mughal atelier under the emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Considered by Okada to be the ‘most penetrating and remarkable portraitist in the imperial atelier’ (A. Okada, Indian Miniatures of the Mughal Court, New York, 1992, p.203) the artist is characterised by his granular modelling of faces, restrained style and supreme talent in capturing the emotions of his sitters. Described by himself as one of the “houseborn” artists (khanezad), Govardhan was son of the painter Bishan Das but shows very little stylistic debt to his father (J. Seyller, “Govardhan”, in M.C. Beach, E. Fischer and B.N. Goswamy (eds.), Masters of Indian Painting 1100-1650, Zurich, 2011, p.362). Thought to have trained under Akbar’s master artist Basawan, Govardhan was an active court painter from a young age. He remarkably was responsible for five solo illustrations to the imperial Akbarnama of 1596-97 when he could not have been much older than twenty years old. The painter found particular favour with Jahangir and was one of a number of artists who moved with the then Prince Salim to his rebel court in Allahabad. He was granted prominent roles for most of the important imperial projects of the period including a number of exquisite borders for the great Jahangir Album. Whilst rightly recognised for his excellent court portraiture, Govardhan showed a special interest in the depiction of sages and holy men, his ‘major contribution to the history of Mughal painting’ (Okada, op.cit., p.196). More so than any other artist he could skilfully evoke both their spiritual existence and the profound wisdom they communicated to their disciples (Okada, op.cit., p.357). A remarkable painting of a group of holy men, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Inv.55.121.10.10r) shows his mastery in this regard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art painting was likely a work for the ill-fated prince Dara Shikoh, with whom Govardhan had a close relationship. It has been suggested that the Prince commissioned a number of Govardhan's studies of ascetics (S.C. Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, New York, 1985, pp.243-44), opening up the possibility that our painting was created for that same patron. The present painting would fall into this category of ascetic painting. At the centre a prince, sat on a carpet and propped up by a large cushion. He is seemingly in animated conversation with a fur-capped sage. In front a kneeling man with an expression of deep focus appears to be mixing food of some sort opposite a pet deer. Behind the prince – who conceivably is Khurram (b.1592) – stand two attendants. A cat, sat on the rug stares right out at the viewer . This work appears to relate very closely to, and probably pre-dates, an illuminated border to a page of calligraphy by Faqir ‘Ali from the Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (MS.A.117, f.25b). The prince, sage and kneeling figure of our painting have been relocated the upper margins of the album page. Crucially that work is signed Govardhan, so our painting should also be attributed to him too (Seyller, op.cit., p.368). Behind the group in the foreground is a beautifully delicately coloured tree within which two birds perch and a number of others are flying about. This also relates to another work, ‘Abu’l-Husain Qarafi foresees a vision of future married bliss for Abu Bakr al-Duqqi’, now in the British Library (OR. 1362.f.142.a). This illustration to the Nafahat al-Uns is dated to the Mughal regnal year 49 (1604-05), attributed to Govardhan and features an assorted group of birds which, besides their more sombre colouring, anticipate those of the present work (Seyller, op.cit., p.365). On a hilltop in the far distance we also see the outline of a European cityscape amidst a crop of trees. This nods to the important influence European art had over the work of Govardhan, with European prints having been gifted to the Mughal court and circulated amongst the imperial atelier. In particular, the expert handling of drapery by Govardhan is something likely to have been derived from studying European models. Whilst demonstrated here, this skill becomes a focal point in a stunning painting of a horse sold by Christie’s, New York, 19 June 2019, lot 322. The great influence of European art on Govardhan is further attested to by his illustration of Aurangzeb facing a mad elephant in the Padshahnama (RCIN 1005025.ad). One of the few paintings in the manuscript to depict shadow, the painting shows that Govardhan, much like the earlier master Bichitr, was more than capable of mastering European painterly concepts. The nim qalam style, literally meaning half pen, is executed with a very thin black brush and minimal polychrome highlights accentuated by gold. The style which originated in Safavid Iran became popular in Mughal court painting at the end of the 16th century and entered a ‘decade long vogue’ greatly influencing Govardhan’s work (Seyller, op.cit., p.362). The technique was well suited to Govardhan’s own style which favoured restraint, keen observation, fine modelling of faces and calculated interpretation of pattern. Of the five solo works Govardhan painted for the Akbarnama of 1596-97, two of them are nim qalam.细节 A PRINCE CONVERSES WITH A SAGEATTRIBUTED TO GOVARDHAN, MUGHAL INDIA, CIRCA 1605Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper set between black and gold rules, a strip of plain paper above and below, mounted in later pink paper margins, the reverse with Mughal royal library stampsPainting 6 x 3 1/2in. (15.2 x 8.8cm.); folio 8 1/2 x 5 3/8in. (21.8 x 13.7cm.) 出版 J. Bautze in C. P. Haase, J. Kröger, U. Linert. Morgenländische Pracht - Islamische Kunst aus deutschem Privatbesitz, Edition Temmen, Hamburg 1993, p.264, pl.186.L. V. Habighorst, Blumen - Bäume - Göttergärten in indischen Miniaturen, Ragaputra Edition, Koblenz, 2010, p.106, pl.75.L. V. Habighorst, Hierarchy and Models. Some Notes on Shaiks in Mughal Painting in U. Bhatia, A. N. Khanna and V. Sharma, The Diverse World of Indian Painting, Aryan Books, New Delhi, 2009, p. 31, pl.4.1.J. Seyller, Govardhan, in M. C. Beach, E. Fischer and B.N. Goswamy (eds.), Masters of Indian Painting 1100-1650, Artibus Asiae Publishers, Zürich, Suppl. 48, 2011, p.357-374, fig.10. 展览 Islamische Kunst aus deutschen Privatbesitz, Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, 18 June-22 August 1993.