Collections Database

Description:
sketch of two scenes; man; woman; brick wall; architecture; indoors

Label Text:
This work offers a glimpse into the manuscript painter’s process, which typically begins by making the illustration’s underlying design. With a finished illustration, the painter covers—and thereby hides—this monochromatic drawing with layers of opaque watercolor paint. In this case, because the illustration was never completed, the painter’s confident and fluid underdrawing remains visible for all to see.

The scene in the upper left corner may depict the Hindu god Krishna with his favorite companion, Radha, both of whom also appear in the painting at right. - Yao Wu, Painting the Persianate World, 2024

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+2012.53.8

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.