Artwork
Page from the Poem of Beauty and Love
Page from the Poem of Beauty and Love is an unspecified painting by the Mughal Painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work is a painted page that presents a continuous flow of black calligraphic script highlighted with gold pigment.
About this work
Overview
The work is a painted page that presents a continuous flow of black calligraphic script highlighted with gold pigment. Set against a pale beige field, the composition is bordered by a thin blue line and edged with subtle floral motifs. Small red and blue specks appear intermittently within the text, providing discreet visual accents.
Subject & Meaning
The inscribed lines are arranged in horizontal bands, each varying slightly in size and form, suggesting a poetic structure. The title associates the piece with themes of beauty and love, indicating that the verses likely explore aesthetic and affectionate concepts, though the exact content remains unreadable without translation.
Technique & Style
The artist employed ink-like black strokes combined with gold leaf or pigment to emphasize key elements of the script. The background’s light beige tone and the delicate floral border are rendered in fine brushwork, while the tiny colored dots are applied as miniature highlights, creating a layered visual texture.
History & Provenance
The page is identified as a painting rather than a manuscript, implying it was created as an artwork that imitates calligraphic pages. Its provenance, including the creator’s identity, date of production, and previous ownership, has not been documented in the available information.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
Calligraphy (verso)
Calligraphy (verso)
Calligraphy of a Pious Invocation in Rhyme (verso)
Illuminated page (verso), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom)
Page from the Late Shah Jahan Album: Calligraphy Framed by an Ornamental Border with Poppies and Pairs of Birds (verso)
Calligraphy of a Pious Invocation in Rhyme (verso)
Illuminated page (verso), from a Panj Ganj (Five Treasures) of Abd al- Rahman Jami (Persian, 1414–1492) with two Persian masnavis: Yusuf va Zulaykha (Joseph and Zulaykha) and Khirad-nama-i Iskandari (Alexander’s Book of Wisdom)
Untitled
Calligraphy framed by an ornamental border with poppies and pairs of birds, from the Late Shah Jahan Album (verso)