Created by Dilawar Pandit approximately around 1620 century AD , ' Rooster ' was made specially on the request of Emperor Jahangir . Requesting his court artists to depict birds in special portraits , using defined borders and refined usage of colours . The background of the painting is typical of the Mughal gharana of painting . The dark green hue , tinged with pinches of gold here and there , clearly indicates that it is a part of the Mughal court from aroundthe seventeenth century . The two contrasting shades of green , the bottle green and light green as the central background for the portrait of the rooster , is very Mughal style of painting .
The decorative golden border hemmed in by the monochromatic bottle green background is quite decorative . The fierce expression of the rooster reflects upon a cruel history of cockfighting . The fierce bird might have emerged victorious in a cockfighting ring , hence the aware eyes , sharp beak and the spurred feet . The history of cockfighting dates back to a long long time . This used to serve as a form of entertainment for the Mughal Emperors , like Gladiator Games was for the Roman Emperors . The juxtapostion of two varying shades of green against the white body of the rooster makes it a striking , phenomenal portrait .
This bird, possessing a fierce demeanor, pointed beak, and spurred legs, might have been a victor in the cockfighting arena. The Mughal emperor Jahangir asked his court artists to create lifelike portraits of extraordinary birds and animals, believing that such artworks evoked a sense of wonder greater than merely listening to or reading a description.
