This Company Painting shows an elevation of the world-famous Taj Mahal. Situated by the River Jumna at Agra, this mausoleum was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to enshrine the body of his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal ('Elect of the Palace'), who died shortly after giving birth to her fourteenth child in 1631. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 with a workforce of 20,000 men, and it was completed in 1653. Shah Jahan was eventually dethroned by his son Aurangzeb and spent his final years interned in Agra Fort, from which he could gaze wistfully at the magnificent building he had created. When he died, in January 1666, his body was carried across the river to lie beside that of his beloved wife.

'Company paintings' were produced by Indian artists for Europeans living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company. They represent a fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. Some Company paintings were specially commissioned, while others were virtually mass-produced and could be purchased in bazaars.