About Painter Govardhan (fl. 1595–1640) was a noted Indian painter of the Mughal school of painting. His father Bhavani Das, had been a minor painter in the imperial workshop. Like many other Mughal painters, they were Hindus. He joined the imperial service during the reign of Akbar and he continued his work till the reign of Shah Jahan. The examples of his work survived till date show that he was fond of rich, sensuous colour and softly modeled forms. Govardhan was one of the illustrators of the Baburnama currently located in the British Museum, London. The Jahangir celebrating the festival of Ab-Pashi (1615), presently kept in the Raza Library in Rampur, India is one of his significant creations. The portraits created by him in the Jahangir albums are presently in the collections of various American and European museums. He depicted the different human physiques of the Indians with much accuracy. An excellent portrait of him was prepared by one of his contemporary painter, Daulat. An attribution in black ink on the lower border notes that the painting was done by Govardhan, an artist of the imperial Mughal workshop during the reigns of Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658). It was probably done to mark Shah Jahan's accession. It came from a group of paintings now divided between the V&A and the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, popularly known as the ‘Minto Album’ from its association with a former owner, Lord Minto. A companion painting from the same album now in the Chester Beatty Library depicts Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the immediate successors of Babur and Humayun, similarly enthroned. About Image Allegorical painting of the Central Asian ruler Timur, with the Mughal emperors Babur and Humayan, all enthroned and beneath a red canopy, with their respective chief ministers standing before them; opaque watercolour and gold on paper, painted by Govardhan, Mughal, ca. 1630. Timur (1336–1405), the Central Asian ruler from whom the Mughals were descended, sits in the centre of this allegorical painting. He hands the imperial crown to the founder of the Mughal dynasty, Babur (r.1526–1530), who is seated to his right. On his left is Babur’s son Humayun, the second Mughal emperor (r.1530–1540 and 1544–1545), who briefly lost the throne and was forced into exile in Iran. All are seated on jewelled thrones beneath parasols, an emblem of royalty. Before them stand their chief ministers, all identified in minuscule Persian inscriptions: on the right is Bayram Khan, with Mirza Shah Rukh and Mirza Rustam in the middle and on the left respectively. To Read More Visit This Book Link https://www.mughallibrary.com/ebooks2020/Gulbadan%2C-Portrait-of-A-Rose-Princess-at-The-Mughal-Court.

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