Pemji of Chitod
Indian, Rajasthan, Mewar

Saint Mirabai, a 16th-century Hindi Poetess and Devotee of Krishna, 1838
pigments and gold on wasli
8 ¼ x 3 7/8 in.

SBMA, Gift of Pratapaditya and Chitra Pal
2008.47.15

RESEARCH PAPER

Poetess Saint Mirabai Performing Ritual Worship [title in 2009]

Little is known about this artist, but he is clearly one of the Mughal tradition. Mughal art can be described as traditional Indo-Islamic-Persian in style. It first flourished during the reign of Akbar in Kabul (1556-1605). Unlike Buddhist art, Mughal art is not symbolic. It does not imply any reality that it does not portray. It is stylized, flat and usually quite colorful. As Asian artists became exposed to European art after the Renaissance there was a gradual change toward the Western concepts of perspective and modeling, but this artist had not yet been influenced by these ideas.

The art was created three centuries after the death of Saint Mirabai and is proof of the continued interest in this figure. Saint Mirabai was a poet, a mystic and a woman who defied the traditions of her time (approximately 1498 to 1545) to pursue her religious vocation. She was married as a very young woman to a Ranjputi prince of Mewar. He died a few years later and she became estranged from her husband's family, possibly because of her religious fervor and her association with common people, but according to some sources, the family was unhappy when she refused to commit suicide or "sati" at the death of her husband. The family tried to have her killed on two occasions but she escaped to join a religious community stressing ecstatic worship of the god Krishna. She was considered by some to be the reincarnation of Radha, the consort of Lord Krishna. Mirabai never specifically made this claim but she did consider Krishna to be her eternal bridegroom.

Saint Mirabai is highly regarded in the feminist movement in India and in the Western world as a woman who defied the traditions of her time to pursue her own vision of the course of her life. The designation as a saint suggests her high status. She became well known and revered by Hindus because of her many poems and songs praising Lord Krishna. These songs are still performed in India and Mohandas Gandhi promoted her as a symbol of non-violent resistance during the struggle to free India from British rule in the 1940s.

The subject is a standing portrait of Saint Mirabai and the figure fills most of the space. The artwork was most likely used as a devotional aid in a branch of the Hindu religion known as the Bhakti sect. The face is seen in profile and the subject appears to be striding from left to right. Mirabai's face is depicted as serene and happy. She is barefoot and holding two lit diyas - lamps made of clay or brass with a wick of cotton.

The background is bland, containing no objects. It is light tan in color but Mirabai's head is surrounded by a lighter area suggesting a halo and saintly status. The composition is orderly and clear. It is balanced, centered, symmetric and vertical. The motion in her stride suggests she is walking quickly to a place of worship within the home. The viewer's focus is on the face, head and halo, but the extended arms lead the eye to the flaming lamps.

The painting has a flat two dimensional appearance typical of a Mughal miniature. There is no horizon or indication of a floor or wall in the setting. The subject is highly decorated with jewelry on the arms, chest, neck and nose. A beautiful and complex earring is also visible. These features may be the artist's method of reminding us that Saint Mirabai began life as a Rani, or princess.

The colors are warm reds, oranges and yellows, which are light in value, contrasting with the long dark hair. The black hair is subtly streaked and worn long, an appearance that would only be seen indoors. Faint transverse red lines are present in the orange dress providing a look of fullness; variations in tone are present in the red apron giving it a vertical quality. Saint Mirabai is dressed as a married woman of high status but if she would appear in public, the dress and hair would be quite different. The soft light suggests the saintly image. The inscription reads: "Mira worshipping" in the Gujarati language.

Prepared by the Docent Council of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art by Roy Nixon, 2009.

Bibliography

Women writing in India, Volume 2, Susie Thorn and K. Lelita. The Feminist Press, 1991.

Women in India, Lynn Reece, Women in World History, 2001. Website: www.womeninworldhistory.com

Indian Painting, the Scene, the Themes and the Legends. Mohinder Singh Randhawa and John Kenneth Galbraith. Published by the Houghton Miffin Company, Boston, 1968.

Jone Johnson Lewis, Faculty member, Meadville/Lombard Theological School, as quoted on the website www. about.com: women's history.

A Catalogue of Indian Painting, Pratapaditya Pal. Publisher, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993.

Pride of the Princes. Indian Art in the Mughal Era. Ellen S. Smart and Daniel S. walker. Published by the Cincinnati Art Museum. 1985.

Translation of the inscription in the Gujarati language: Sneh Singh, SMBA Docent.

POSTSCRIPT

"Clouds"
a poem by Saint Mirabai.

I watched as they ruptured
Ash black and pallid I saw mountainous clouds
Split and spew rain
For two hours.
Everywhere water. Plants and rainwater
A riot of green on the earth.
My lover has gone off to a foreign country.
Sopping wet at our doorway
Mira says nothing can harm him.
This passion has yet to be slaked.