The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States
The painting known as the Virgin and Child Attended by Angels is a miniature painting created during the Mughal era around the year 1600 AD. This unique piece of work was created by the court artist Manohar (1582-1624), which is currently preserved at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, U.S.
In the painting, the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus are seated on the patterned floral carpet surrounded by flowers and a plate full of fruits under the shade of a tree. Three angels are seen to be taking care of them. An angel is holding the golden incense burner while another is carrying a blue and white Chinese porcelain bowl.
It was made with brown and blue ink along with gold on the paper using the "nimqalam" (half-pen) technique. It is a drawing technique where there is use of very fine lines and translucent ink washes to create light figures, halos, and wings. The celestial characters in this painting are placed in the usual earthly landscape. And this is how Manohar managed to create cross cultural harmony. There is an impression of softness in the manner of painting Mary's robes and there is an impression of tranquility in the eyes of all.
In order to understand the subtext of this artwork, it should be stated that in the 17th century, the Mughal court became a place where there was religious syncretism and academic curiosity. This started during the reign of Emperor Akbar and this particular painting was created under the great influence of the Mughal court's great interest in the art of European Renaissance brought by Jesuit missionaries.
Instead of imitating the Western Renaissance painting techniques, textures and aesthetics, Manohar transformed them into a mature fusion. He showed the European Christian divinity through the lens of Islamic imagery as angels in this painting are not depicted as the typical biblical angels but as peris (fairies), as described in the Persian literature. At the same time, there are influences of Hindu traditions in the depiction of the fruit plate arrangement, which looks similar to prasad – the devotional ritual of offering food to the deity.
At its very core, the essence of the cosmopolitan Mughal culture is reflected through the visual language of the painting, which was local in its origin and global in its effect.
By Manohar The Virgin and Child Attended by Angels is much more than simply a Christian devotional piece. It is a brilliant illustration of the cultural and artistic diffusion taking place in the Mughal court around 1600. It depicts the Virgin and Christ with hushed grace, attended by three winged angels who carry incense and offerings.
Although we have a familiar Christian subject in front of us, the artist injects uniquely Indian accents: the angels recall the peris of Indo-Islamic painting, we see an offering of what seems to be a porcelain bowl made with Chinese craft techniques, and the fruit placed near the pair recalls the Indian offerings of prasad or sanctified food.
Most impressive to me is the successful integration of these elements: this is not Christianity but an understanding of and incorporation of it within the pictorial vocabulary of Mughal India. The subtlety of the nim qalam technique adds to the pensive effect. I think of this as a microcosm of cross-cultural art, where we see religions and philosophies interacting without compromising their distinctions, but rather enriching and transforming them through their dialogue.
