Barasingha (Swamp Deer) Watercolor Painting on Paper

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Naturalistic treatment of birds and animals became more and more apparent as a purely linear, pictorial, and decorative representation of the Persian School seems to have been pushed to the background during the Mughal era.

This picture of one of the ruminants of the Cervidae family stands isolated against a pale green ground. It has been created by careful use of powerful lines and thin layers of pigment of appropriate hues. It has a sturdy, muscular body with very well-defined fore and hind legs. The hairy mane makes it look like a picture of beauty. It has solid, deciduous horns/antlers which only the male of the Cervidae family has. Belonging to an otherwise muscular body, the jaw seems vague and soft. The nostril is ill-defined as much as the eye is well-defined and imbued with warmth of feeling. The ears are erect, receptive to every sound in the jungle. The antlers that branch out at the base also form a fork at the end. They are the animal's only defense weapon bestowed by Nature.

Hues and tones of ochre are used to shade areas that are needed to depict volume and muscular bulges. The mane has been worked upon with great care depicting each hair individually. The hooves are strong to bear the heavy weight of the animal and cause a slight depression on the ground where it stands. The background is green with horizontal brush strokes on the top to define the horizon and similar strokes at the bottom to depict the ground. The ground also has a few tufts of grass. The picture has a vertical border with Arabic writing. Outside the purview of the painting is the signature of the artist that multiplies the value of this wonderful painting.

This description by Kiranjyot.