Andrew Lambirth

Decorative magnificence

The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860<br /> National Portrait Gallery, until 20 June Mark Shields: Here and Elsewhere<br /> Grosvenor Gallery, 21 Ryder Street, SW1, until 14 May<br />  

issue 01 May 2010

The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860
National Portrait Gallery, until 20 June

Mark Shields: Here and Elsewhere
Grosvenor Gallery, 21 Ryder Street, SW1, until 14 May
 

I suspect that the first thought in many people’s minds to be associated with the Indian portrait is of the delicately detailed miniatures produced at the Mughal court in the 16th and 17th centuries. This is indeed the beginning of Indian portraiture as we know it, and the point at which this fascinating exhibition commences. Here is the portrait not just as likeness, but also as propaganda and official chronicle.

The exhibition design in the Porter Gallery is constructed to steer the visitor clearly round the exhibits. A long curving wall with a large aperture commands our progress: we enter the gallery and go left. Here is a tiny portrait of the Emperor Jahangir, dated 1627, seen in profile through a craze of craquelure, and ceremonially arrayed as if at a window or on a balcony.

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