In what ways do figures of authority present themselves? How does art serve to define a ruler's image? What is it that these rulers want to communicate about themselves? How do these works of art serve to persuade our view of these individuals?
Here we have two artworks that each depict a ruler of the 17th century. The cultural identity of each is vastly different from the other, spanning continents and beliefs that are inherent to Europe and Asia. Yet, if we evaluate the portraits of these individuals, there's no doubt we will also come to recognize similarities in what each is hoping to communicate. Below are two articles that offer context to each work. The titles above highlighted in orange are hyperlinks that will take you to the museum websites and where you can find enlargements of the images. For this assignment, I ask that you compare these two artworks, Figure 1, Emperor Jahangir Embracing Nur Jahan, and Figure 2, Charles I and Henrietta Maria with their two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Mary. Make note of at least one similarity and one difference between these two works. Base your comparison on your observations and describe using terms and language we apply in class. Consider all elements represented in these works, in the articles, and the label for points of comparison. Post your observations by 11:59 pm, Sunday, November 12, 2023. (20 pts) Figure 1: Most Mughal painting specialists agree that this is a portrait of Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627), the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the son of Akbar the Great. In this work he wears a pierced earring with two pearls indicating he is a follower of the Sufi (Muslim ascetic) saint Khwaja Muin al-Din Chishti. Jahangir had both ears pierced and started wearing pearl earrings in August 1614 after crediting the saint with his recovery from a severe illness. Accompanied by two female attendants, one holding a tray of food and the other holding a fly whisk and hookah pipe, the emperor is shown holding a cup of wine, of which he is known to have been particularly fond and typically had laced with opium. Jahangir is embracing and staring intently into the eyes of an elegant woman, who is presumably his beloved wife, Nur Jahan (1577-1645), although a few scholars question her identification. Jahangir and Nur Jahan married in 1611 when she was a widowed handmaiden. The empress Nur Jahan, Jahangir’s favorite wife, by all accounts, including those of Jahangir himself and European visitors to the Mughal court, was a remarkable and brilliantly capable woman. She was a dynamic empress who managed the affairs of state when her husband was incapacitated and was particularly influential on artistic and architectural development, religious policy, women's issues and trade matters, cultivating lucrative trading relationships in Asia and Europe. She also owned ships in her own name to transport cargo to Europe and pilgrims to the Muslim city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and accumulated tremendous wealth independently of the Mughal treasury. Figure 2: This was Van Dyck's first commission following his appointment as court painter to Charles I in 1632. Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1625 to 1649. His authoritarian rule and quarrels with Parliament provoked a civil war that led to his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart, the royal Scottish family ruling Scotland and Britain in the 17th century. Charles I was the second son of King James VI of Scotland, and after his father inherited the English throne in 1603, he moved to England, where he spent much of the rest of his life. Figure 2 shows Charles and his Queen, Henrietta Maria of France, with their two eldest children: Prince Charles, later King Charles II, standing before his father and Princess Mary in her mother's arms. In the background we glimpse a silhouetted view of Parliament House, Westminster Hall and possibly the Clock Tower. Henrietta Maria of France met Charles I when he was traveling to Spain to discuss a future marriage to Maria Anna, Infanta of Spain. When this did not come to fruition, it was decided he would marry Henrietta Maria instead. They were married by proxy in 1625. She spoke little English when she came to England, and this combined with her Catholicism meant that she was not well liked in England. At first the couple did not get along, however as time went on their affections grew, and Henrietta Maria had nine children with Charles I, two of whom went on to be king – Charles II and James II. During the Civil War, Henrietta Maria moved to France for safety, and it was from here, in 1649 that she heard of her husband’s execution. She remained in France until the Restoration, when her son Charles II regained his position as King of England in 1660. She was a leading patron of the arts. In the summer of 1665 she contracted a bout of the plague, and returned to France. Upon her return to France she founded a convent in Chaillot, Paris where she spent much of the last years of her life until she died in 1669. Comments are closed.
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