Emperor Akbar Crossing the River Ganges in 1567

This is a page from the Akbarnama("Book of Akbar"), the official illustrated chronicle of Emperor Akbar's reign, painted around 1590–95 by the Mughal court artists Ikhlas, who painted the outlines and colours, and Madhav, who painted the faces. It depicts Akbar (r. 1556–1605) crossing the Ganges River on elephant-back on his way to fight the rebellious brothers Khan Zaman and Bahadur Khan. The composition captures the chaotic energy of a river crossing: a long procession of elephants churns through choppy grey-blue water, while soldiers and horses swim and wade alongside them. Several mounted elephants are guided by their riders while horses are led by soldiers, all decorated with gold chains and jewellery. True to Mughal royal portraiture conventions, the emperor and his elephant are drawn noticeably larger than the rest of the group to emphasise his presence. Akbar wears a yellow robe, green sash, and brown turban, guiding his elephant with a gold goad. Behind him rise wooded riverbanks with pavilions and a distant fort, framing the scene's turbulence with calm. The manuscript was commissioned by Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign, written in Persian by his court historian Abu'l Fazl, and is thought to be the earliest illustrated copy of the text, drawing on the era's finest royal artists. It now belongs to the V&A, which purchased it in 1896 from the widow of a former Commissioner of Oudh.

This painting is a refined example of Mughal miniature painting under Akbar rule. It is characterised by thin outlines for figures, precise detailing such as in the rendition of moustaches or the skin of the elephant. Other than that, the overall movement shown here as the King’s royal procession passes through the water is done with care, we can see the tension on the body and the force that has created disturbances in the water can be seen through frothy white waves emerging upwards. The royal procession here includes several of Akbar’s soldiers swimming through the water with their horses, and others riding on their elephants. Akbar is shown controlling his balance on his elephant, and is accompanied by a mahout at the back.