This painting depicts the Pentecost, which falls on the seventh Sunday after the Resurrection of Christ. The Holy Spirit appears in the form of a white dove above the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, eleven of them are seen around the dark room expressing in various ways their awe at the luminous presence of the Spirit. The colours of the paintings are applied without following traditional Western iconographic conventions. For example, Mary’s traditional blue robe has been rendered in startling green and red. Jesuit Missions were sent from Goa to the Mughal court and this courtly miniature reflects early contact and exchanges between Portugal and Mughal India.
