One of the most intriguing paintings by Mir Kalan Khan, a Mughal artist of the eighteenth-century, who was initially based in Delhi but later joined the court of Shuja al-Dawla, the Nawab of Awadh in 1750, is Elephants in a landscape, alternatively known as The Taming of Wild Elephants. Elephants in a Landscape presents a picture of people trying to tame wild elephants in a vast natural landscape. At first glance, the painting seems to illustrate the custom practiced by the Mughals of taming the wild elephants as shown in the Akbarnama. However, after looking carefully at the painting, it becomes evident that the elephants in this painting are adorned with royal ornaments and are accompanied by trained mahouts. In addition, it can be seen that the elephants are charging through the landscape as the mahouts try to restrain them. Their tense body language and worried expressions suggest confusion and chaos, which emphasize the sheer strength and unpredictability of the elephants. Instead of showing these animals calm and controlled in a royal setting, Mir Kalan Khan chooses to portray them in a moment of disarray, giving his painting a realistic touch. The painting is a combination of Mughal style as well as the use of European water colour techniques, especially in the representation of trees, rocks and water. With the amalgamation of both elements, the painting is an example of Mir Kalan Khan's artistic originality and is one of the finest examples of late Mughal painting.
Two elephants crash together at the center of this small painting, tusks locked and trunks knotted tightly. A mahout has slipped between them and is likely being crushed. Above this fight, tucked in the higher section of the vertical painting, a different scene plays out by a lake: hunters bait a wild tusker while his mate tries to hold him back with her trunk. The two moments don’t belong to the same story. One shows a staged elephant combat, a form of royal entertainment. The painting was created by Mir Kalan Khan in 1760 in Lucknow . Its inspiration come from an older Mughal template, the tall, layered compositions of rock and ledge that painters used generations earlier under Akbar. What gives away the later date are the wide, soft eyes on every face and the warm golds and oranges layered across the surface. There’s a sharper move buried underneath all this borrowing. The tangled elephants recall an older Persian theme, two camels locked in a fight, a motif painters had reworked for centuries. Here, the camels are swapped for elephants and it reads as Mir Kalan Khan staking a claim, planting a classical Persian idea on Indian ground and representing it in local Awadhi style.
