Page of an illuminated manuscript of the Shriviravakyanumatam version of the Shrikalakacaryakatha, detail

~In the last years of the seventeenth century, an unnamed painter drew his single-hair brush in one unwavering line from the top of the young maharana Amar Singh II’s head to the nape of his neck, tracing a long, gently arching nose, generous lips, and a slight chin. His drawing is part preparatory sketch, part finished portrait...