Unknown gallery, Lent by Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, Museum purchase, Karl E. Weston Memorial Fund, 81.44
Keshav Das’s Self Portrait, made at the Mughal court in Delhi around 1570, is a remarkably simple but personal image. The artist is shown in profile, alone, before a plain green background, wearing a white turban and a loose white cloth over a reddish garment. He cradles a small object in both hands and his quiet demeanour implies he has taken a moment to show himself to the viewer. The painting is surprisingly intimate for a work produced in the highly formal world of the Mughal atelier, lacking an elaborate court setting and a crowd of people around him. The spareness of the composition shows the care with which Keshav Das has drawn his own figure. His face, his clothes and his hands are carefully defined by fine lines, and the soft colours give the portrait a quiet elegance. The pale clothing also pops with the green background, keeping our focus on the artist himself. What is interesting is the fact that Keshav Das has decided to make himself the main subject instead of concealing his identity in a bigger court scene. This gives the painting a confidence and self awareness. Keshav Das is a man of his time, when artists were often seen as craftsmen working in an imperial workshop, but he positions himself as someone worthy of being seen and remembered. The work also shows the mix of artistic traditions that went into Mughal painting. The strong colours and precise line work of Indian painting is combined with the softer modelling and three quarter profile associated with Persian and European influences. In its quiet way, the portrait is not merely an image of what Keshav Das looked like. It's also a statement that the person behind the painting mattered.
When one thinks of Mughal paintings or even the painting of Keshav Das, for that matter, one thinks of intricately painted court scenes depicting the majesty of the emperor and the grandeur of his court, which are far from plain. But here the artist, instead of placing the emperor and the court at the center, places himself as the main subject. The background and the portrait itself are quite plain when compared to other works painted by the artist. It is interesting and refreshing to see an artist creating such a self-portrait, which can probably also be seen as an attempt at self-preservation. He was an artist that probably spent a lifetime immortalizing his patrons; this painting appears to be an effort at immortalizing his own self.
