Ghulam Ali Khan
| Ghulam Ali Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Delhi |
| Died | Mughal India |
| Known for | Topographical paintings, portraits |
| Notable work |
|
| Style | Mughal |
Ghulam Ali Khan was an Indian painter in Delhi in the first half of the 19th Century.[1] He was the last royal Mughal painter.[2]
Biography
Ali Khan was the court painter of Mughal emperors Akbar II (reigned 1806–1837) and Bahadur Shah II (reigned 1837–1858) at Delhi. After the completion of his portrait of Akbar II, Ghulam Ali Khan was commissioned to paint the accession portrait of Bahadur Shah II enthroned. Versions of the portrait exist in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC and the Nasser D. Khalili collection in London.
He created 31 paintings, circa 1852-1854, monuments in and around Delhi, and four portraits of Emperor Bahadur Shah II and his sons. The paintings were in watercolour and gold on paper with black margins; each painting was labelled in English and Persian in nasta'liq script.[3]
He also worked for more than ten years at the court of Jhajjar and Alwar court of Raja Baani Singh. Also closely associated with the East India Company notably William Fraser and James Skinner. These works for William Fraser are included in the Fraser Album.
His Sketches of The Delhee Palace & Delhee from 1854 are a series of 31 paintings, consisting of views of monuments in and around Delhi. Three paintings are dated November 1852. Although not know, it is possible that the album originally belonged to Sir Thomas Monteath Douglas (1787-1868). The paintings are from the later period in the painter's career.
His work is an important documentation of the Mughal empire towards its end, the other being the famed Metcalfe's Delhi Book mostly done by Mazhar Ali Khan.
He was the nephew of noted Mughal painter, Ghulam Murtaza Khan.[4]
Works
-
Bahadur Shah II enthroned with Mirza Fakhruddin, 1837–38 (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian)
-
The Diwan-i-Khas with red shamianas, around 1817 (British Library)
-
A tiger hunt, 1820 (Victoria & Albert Museum)
-
Thakur Dawlat Singh among Courtiers, 1825 (David Collection)
See also
References
- ↑ William Dalrymple. "William Dalrymple on The Dehlie Book | Art and design". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
- ↑ "Scenes From a Dying Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
- ↑ "Bonhams". Bonhams.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
- ↑ Harshini Vakkalanka (2013-02-06). "Art and an empire". The Hindu. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
Further reading
- L. Y. Leach. Paintings from India. Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London 1998. pp. 161–163.
- Y. Sharma. 'In the Company of the Mughal Court: Delhi Painter Ghulam 'Ali Khan', in W. Dalrymple, Y. Sharma (ed.) Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi 1707-1857. New Haven 2012, pp. 41–51.
- J. P. Losty, M. Roy. Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire. London 2012. pp. 217–220.
External links
Media related to Ghulam Ali Khan at Wikimedia Commons