Akbar and Friends - Note 1

48" x 48" 

Oil on Canvas

A reflection that could be seen more as a small journal entry rather than a painting on my learnings of the Akbarnama and the Mughal Empire after discussions with other artists and curators. This piece is more a series of expressions forming a very subjective narrative of precolonial India during the later reigns of the Mughal Empire. Depicting the gentle and creative King Akbar (Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar) in the form of an elephant, the progressive yet prideful King Shah Jahan (Mirza Shahab-ud-Din Baig Muhammad Khan Khurram) depicted by the peacock feathers, and finally the ruthless tyrant King Aurangzeb (Muhi al-Din Muhammad), represented by a tiger.