Indian. Yusuf and Zulaykha, 1875–1900. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Sheet: 11 3/4 x 19 15/16 in. (29.8 x 50.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Philip P. Weisberg, 59.206.7 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.206.7_IMLS_PS4.jpg)
Indian. Yusuf and Zulaykha, 1875–1900. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Sheet: 11 3/4 x 19 15/16 in. (29.8 x 50.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Philip P. Weisberg, 59.206.7 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.206.7_PS2.jpg)
Indian. Yusuf and Zulaykha, 1875–1900. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Sheet: 11 3/4 x 19 15/16 in. (29.8 x 50.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Philip P. Weisberg, 59.206.7 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.206.7_acetate_bw.jpg)
Yusuf and Zulaykha
Asian Art
CULTURE
Indian
MEDIUM
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
DATES
1875–1900
DYNASTY
Mughal
DIMENSIONS
Sheet: 11 3/4 x 19 15/16 in. (29.8 x 50.6 cm)
Image: 8 7/8 x 12 7/8 in. (22.5 x 32.7 cm) (show scale)
INSCRIPTIONS
Identification of figures, inscribed on left: "Hazrat, Jinab, Yusuf, Aleihem al-salawat va-al-salam"
In the margin at the right, in Persian, in nastaliq script: "His excellency, Saint Yusuf, praise and peace be upon him. Hazrat, Jainab, Yusuf, Aleihem al-salawat wa-al-salam."
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
59.206.7
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Philip P. Weisberg
PROVENANCE
Prior to 1959, provenance not yet documented; by December 1959, acquired by Philip P. Weisberg of New York, NY; December 10, 1959, gift of Philip P. Weisberg to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Before one of four city gates an outsized sultan greets a holy personage whose head is set off by a flaming mandoral. Male and female courtiers of every walk of life pay homage to him or carry on with their work. Around the periphery of the city we see the roofs of buildings and rectangles, representing interiors in which the inhabitants work and socialize. In the center of the painting the sultan's white palace is visible, complete with its garden and harem.
Despite the oddities of scale and perspective and the unprepossessing style here, the artist has succeeded in illustrating the charming, multifaceted character of traditional Indian life.
The topographical view of the palace quarter is a reinterpretation of a convention used in Central Indian and even Nepalese paintings of the nineteenth century to indicate a palace scene. The crowding of figures shown in sizes that extend from large to miniature conveys the rich variety of activity in the bazaar. Specific areas where foods, clothes, and objects are sold are rendered with extraordinary clarity, while even the minuscule figures in the background show such activities as monkey entertainers and figures in palanquins, on elephants, and with bullock carts (set in contemporaneous Hyderabad). In the center of the painting the sultan's white palace is visible, complete with its garden and harem.
This swarming activity is contained within a carefully rendered enframement of rectangles, each of which reveals figures pursuing their daily routines. The rigidity of these bands of carefully ruled blocks is relieved by a second border of minuscule buildings depicting the range of architectural styles and purposes in the busy town. Despite the oddities of scale and perspective, the artist has succeeded in illustrating the active, multifaceted character of traditional Indian life.
Inscription: In the margin at the right, in Persian, in nastaliq script: "His Excellency, Saint Yusuf, praise and peace be upon him. Hazrat, Jainab, Yusuf, Aleihem al-salawat wa-al-salam."
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Indian. Yusuf and Zulaykha, 1875–1900. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, Sheet: 11 3/4 x 19 15/16 in. (29.8 x 50.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Philip P. Weisberg, 59.206.7 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.206.7_IMLS_PS4.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 59.206.7_IMLS_PS4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
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