BASAWAN: “Battle of the ascetics in Akbar (miniature from the Akbar Nama), c.1570 - miniature on paper - London , Victoria & Albert Museum

Although we don't have too many details about his biography, Basawan was the main figure of the Mogul miniature during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605). His masterworks are the miniatures made for the chronicle of the emperor - the Akbar Nama - from which the “Battle of the ascetics ” is the most outstanding example.

Read from the top to the bottom, the composition is a dramatic crescendo that begins with a calm landscape of Akbar's environs and architecture, follows with the representation of an important personage- perhaps the emperor himself- accompanied by his crew members and a pair of elephants, and begins the representation of the battle in the lower half of the work, reaching terrible levels in the scenes in which several men are killed by the enemy swords.