Bishandas was a 17th-century Mughal painter at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627), specializing in portraits. Jahangir praised him as "unrivalled in the art of portraiture". Though little is known of Bishandas’ life, his name suggests he was a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, like several others in the imperial workshop. In 1613 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, to paint the portraits of Shah

Abbas I of Persia Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third s ...

(1571–1629) and other leading Persian figures. Here he was so successful that he remained until 1620, and on his return Jahangir gave him an elephant. File:Recto- "Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh Rathor", verso- Page of Calligraphy. Folio from the Shah Jahan Album MET DT200625 (cropped).jpg, Portrait of Raja Suraj Singh of

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

, Jahangir's brother in law.Metropolitan page
/ref> File:Bishan Das. Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, ca 1610, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi -.jpg, Shaikh Phul in His Hermitage, c. 1610 File:Bishan Das. The Birth of Prince, ca 1610-15, Page from Jahangirnama, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg, The Birth of a Prince, c. 1610–15, from a ''Jahangirnama'' (''

Tuzk-e-Jahangiri ''Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri'' or ''Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri'' ( fa, ) or Jahangir-nama ( fa, ) is the autobiography of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1569–1627). Also referred to as ''Jahangirnama'', the ''Tuzk-e-Jahangiri'' is written in Persian, and follows th ...

'') File:Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Emperor Jahangir, about 1627.jpg,

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa P ersian: نورجهان (; – 18 December 1645) was the wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from 1620 until his death in 1627. Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, as the daughter of a Mirza Gh ...

holding a portrait of Jahangir, c. 1627 (detail) File:Vasiṣṭha Greets Shiva and Parvati.jpg,

Vasiṣṭha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha ...

Greets

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

, c. 1602

Notes

References

*Crill, Rosemary, and Jariwala, Kapil. ''The Indian Portrait, 1560–1860'', National Portrait Gallery, London, 2010, {{Authority control Mughal painters Court painters 17th-century Indian painters Indian male painters