Chitarman II was a highly influential court painter during the late 17th and first half of the 18th centuries. His actual name was Kalyan Das. He is recognised for his usage of cool and subdued palette in his paintings. His works are products of later Mughal experiments with extreme geometric symmetry and refined architectural settings. Chitarman II often left backgrounds vacant, vast, or minimalist—such as clean architectural walls or open sky horizons—to force the viewer's focus directly onto the primary subjects. The above painting entitled ‘Muhammad Farrukhsiyar’ is an excellent example of his usage of flat background. In this painting, Furrukhshiyar is sitting on a horse. The house is yellowish. It can be a conscious choice of the painter not to use realistic features. It was an active choice to show the emperor as a charismatic and super natural human being. There is a halo behind his head that signifies him as a divine emperor. There is a flat background that shows a land beside the emperor. Small swans are shown to project the distance. The lake mixes up on the horizon. There are clouds shown on the upper side of the horizon. The calming blue background is contrasted with a low, green land line at the base. This painting is an excellent example of later Mughal patronage in painting. Layer patronage showed signs of economic decline of later Mughal Empire. There was also a tendency towards illustrating flattened spaces.
This portrait of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Farrukhsiyar by Chitarman II (Kalyan Das) captures the tension between imperial grandiosity and the political fragility of the later Mughal era.
Farrukhsiyar is depicted with a radiant nimbus (halo), seated atop an idealized, stylized mount. This visual strategy reinforces the traditional concept of the emperor as farr-i izadi (the divine shadow of God on Earth), projecting absolute authority and calm assurance during an era marked by factional strife and the rising power of kingmakers.
Chitarman II's deliberate use of a flat, expansive background—characterized by cool blue tones and a low horizon—isolates the emperor from narrative distractions. The vast, unadorned landscape with distant swans emphasizes quiet dignity and forces the viewer to focus entirely on the emperor’s presence.
Departing from the dense, action-filled compositions of early Mughal ateliers (such as those under Akbar or Jahangir), the painting employs restrained color harmonies and flatter planes. This stylistic shift reflects both a refined late Mughal aesthetic and an evolving courtly language that substituted formal idealization and serene elegance for vigorous naturalism.
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By: Shivani Bajpai
The painting captures Muhammad Farrukhsiyar not merely as a ruler, but as a figure moving through history with quiet authority. Seated gracefully upon a richly adorned horse, he appears suspended between earthly power and divine symbolism, emphasized by the luminous halo surrounding his head. His patterned crimson robes contrast beautifully with the pale blue sky, creating an almost dreamlike atmosphere. The flying birds introduce movement and freedom, while the delicate flowers and plants beneath the horse suggest fertility and renewal. Yet the ruler’s composed posture remains still and controlled. The painting therefore transforms royal power into a poetic image of elegance, spirituality, and timeless sovereignty.
