Hunters in a Forest (detail)
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Watercolor |
| Current Location: | Los Angelos County Museum of Art |
| Location History: | The page comes from the Gulshan Album, which began to be compiled around 1599−1604 for Prince Salim, later Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605−27). The bulk of the album is preserved in the Gulistan Library, Tehran; it consists of paintings and calligraphy from diverse sources and of varying dates, which were contemporaneously mounted with elaborate borders featuring figures and flora and fauna, as is the case here. Though distinctively Mughal, the folio underscores the Persianate roots of the dynasty and its cultural aspirations. |
The painting 'Hunters in a Forest' by Muhammad Sharif turns a scene of aristocratic recreation into a strong example of political authority. Apart from being simple pastime, the work presents the ruler as a stabilizing presence who brings order to the wild wilderness and reinterprets imperial violence as a controlled display of peace. The composition omits the local people who live in the forest and all the labouring classes, thus systematically denying other people's claims to the land and declares the monarch to be its only legitimate owner. In this way, by remaining silent on these points, the painting gives a refined appearance to domination and sets up a tradition of visual representations of power relations which links historical imperial portraiture to current media depictions of inherited wealth and elite status.