Portrait of a Raja, probably Raja Dhrub Dev of Jasrota

ca.1690-1700

Portraits of Dhrub Dev with his distinctive high beaked nose were produced by painters from Mankot, Jasrota and Jammu. In the manner typical of Mankot, Jasrota, and Jammu portraiture in the early eighteenth century, the artist composed the image by combining plan views (carpet and tray) with frontal representations (figure, bolster, hookah). This painting is ascribed to Jammu because of the uncolored buff paper background and the colors, which are more subdued than those used at Mankot and Jasrota. The sober palette creates a dramatic, yet sensitive, image.