Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1606-69 was a Dutch Painter and etcher, considered to be one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history at a period of great wealth and cultural achievement of the Dutch golden era.
Rembrandt created nearly two-dozen copies of Mughal paintings between the years 1654 and 1660. An avid collector of Mughal drawings, he experimented with different kinds of lines and contours to imitate and adapt the Mughal style to widen the acuity of his art. This portrait of a Mughal nobleman on horseback greatly resembles Emperor Shah Jehan (1592-1666) and Rembrandt’s sketches have frequent depictions of the ruler.
This sketch in Pen, ink, red, yellow chalk on Japanese paper is held by the British Museum, London and is currently on display as part of the show “The Horse: from Arabia to the Royal Ascot”. The show is on from 24th May to 30thSeptember 2012.
