Ebook: Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India

This sumptuously illustrated volume examines the impact of Indian art and culture on Rembrandt (1606&;1669) in the late 1650s. By pairing Rembrandt&;s twenty-three extant drawings of Shah Jahan, Jahangir, Dara Shikoh, and other Mughal courtiers with Mughal paintings of similar compositions, the book critiques the prevailing notion that Rembrandt &;brought life&; to the static Mughal art. Written by scholars of both Dutch and Indian art, the essays in this volume instead demonstrate how Rembrandt&;s contact with Mughal painting inspired him to draw in an entirely new, refined style on Asian paper&;an approach that was shaped by the Dutch trade in Asia and prompted by the curiosity of a foreign culture. Seen in this light, Rembrandt&;s engagement with India enriches our understanding of collecting in seventeenth-century Amsterdam, the Dutch global economy, and Rembrandt&;s artistic self-fashioning. A close examination of the Mughal imperial workshop provides new insights into how Indian paintings came to Europe as well as how Dutch prints were incorporated into Mughal compositions.