c. 1660-1680

Maharaja Sundar Das of Sawar

In this scene, the bodies of Maharaja Sundar Das and his two small sons, the birdcage, and the bolster are painted as flat objects, almost as if they were paper cutouts. Although the use of shading to show dimension was well known in India by this time via Mughal and European artists, this Rajput painter chose not to employ shading at all. Instead, the viewer's attention is caught by bold variations in scale and by the interplay of colors. Although politically insignificant, the small kingdom of Sawar in northeastern Rajasthan had an active painting workshop. Little is known about Maharaja Sundar Das (1606-1668) except that he was obese and required seven yards of muslin for his waistband.