Decorative magnificence

The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860
National Portrait Gallery, until 20 June

Mark Shields: Here and Elsewhere
Grosvenor Gallery, 21 Ryder Street, SW1, until 14 May
 

I suspect that the first thought in many people’s minds to be associated with the Indian portrait is of the delicately detailed miniatures produced at the Mughal court in the 16th and 17th centuries. This is indeed the beginning of Indian portraiture as we know it, and the point at which this fascinating exhibition commences. Here is the portrait not just as likeness, but also as propaganda and official chronicle.

The exhibition design in the Porter Gallery is constructed to steer the visitor clearly round the exhibits. A long curving wall with a large aperture commands our progress: we enter the gallery and go left. Here is a tiny portrait of the Emperor Jahangir, dated 1627, seen in profile through a craze of craquelure, and ceremonially arrayed as if at a window or on a balcony. Facing, and looking to the right, thus mirroring Jahangir’s gaze to the left, is Shah Jahan as a prince. A full-length figure, this is one of the classic images of Mughal art, as the handsome catalogue (hardback £20) reliably informs me. He is holding up a turban jewel in his left hand, and wearing gold, pearls and precious stones. A key phrase for this exhibition could be ‘decorative magnificence’. The elaborate detail in these images requires equally detailed study.

For instance, consider the wondrous pink rocks in the landscape background of ‘Abdullah Khan Uzbeg with his falconer’. In this case, the setting is of more interest than the foreground figures. Compare the marvellous (and to my eye slightly humorous) clarity of ‘A Falconer’ hung next to it, in which the plump courtier is either saluting or holding down his turban in the breeze.