Groundbreaking Publication on 16th Century Indian Painting

The research of Prof. Gulbransen was recently featured in Artibus Asiae, a leading peer-reviewed Asian art journal. Gulbransen’s article, entitled “Reassessing the Origins of the Portrait Genre in Bundi: A Case Study in Northern Indian Artistic Exchange,” argues that the movement of painters between the imperial Mughal painting workshop and the court of Bundi in Rajasthan had a significant impact on the evolution of portraiture in Rajasthan. She cites both written and painted evidence to reconstruct this significant network of artistic exchange in 16th century northern India. In addition to reconsidering what constituted a portrait for the artists and patrons in the 16th century and questioning dominant academic models of cultural exchange, Gulbransen’s study provides a critical examination of the taxonomic structures currently employed in Indian art scholarship. Through this case study of early Bundi portraits (particularly the one pictured here), her publication draws new attention to broader methodological concerns in the field of South Asian painting.

Portrait of Rao Surjan Singh of Bundi, 1590s. Gopi Krishna Kanoria Collection.
Photo courtesy of the Regents of the University of Michigan, Department of the History of Art, Visual Resources Collections.