Mughal School Flashcards
Origin and Development of Mughal School of Miniature Painting
Babur (1526-1530), the fifth descendent of Taimurlung conquered Northern India in 1526 and established the Mughal Empire. From his mother’s side, he carried the blood of Chengiz Khan, the great Mongol and so in him Babur carried greatness from both dynasties. He inherited Taimur’s qualities of patronizing music, poetry literature and art. His hectic life of four years fighting and conquering gave him little time to setup an atelier of his own but he longed for the exquisite art work at Herat of Safavid Dynasty. This overwhelming love for Persian art did not inspire him to understand and appreciate the art of India. So practically he left no influence in the development of Mughal art in India.
Humayun (1530-1556), Babur’s son, was born with his father’s artistic inclination but lacked the determination of Babur. Before he could consolidate his empire he was driven to exile by Sher Shah Suri. He took shelter under Persian Safavid rulers. There he fell in love with the grandeur of Persian paintings. During his exile he met two young masters, Khwaja Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali. He regained his empire in 1555 and brought the two master painters. It is believed that Akbar received painting lessons from Khwaja Abdus Samad when he was very young while Humayun was setting up his court in Kabul. Some art critics think that the famous series of Hamza-Nama, which shows popular romantic stories with many legends of Prophet Mohammed’s uncle was asked by Humayun to be taken up by artists before his death.
Akbar (1556-1605), succeeded to throne at the age of thirteen. Though illiterate had a thirst for knowledge and started the illustrations for several religious texts. He himself had training in painting from Khwaja Abdus Samad. Once on the throne, he built a great imperial atelier with best equipment and recruited the best among Hindu painters like Miskin and Jagannath. Thus hundreds of Hindu artists worked under the guidance of Khwaja Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali.
The first series of illustrations for Hamza-Nama which began in Humayun’s time took about 25 years to finish. All 1375 paintings in twelve unsewn folios had a consistent style because they were done under the guidance of Mir Sayyid Ali who planned the whole work in Persian or Safavid style. These early illustrations show two dimensional decorative work without shading or perspective. It has a wonderful line drawing and beautiful enamel like colours. Hilly landscapes were painted in either blue or gold and enlarged flowers were profusely painted. Human figures often in stereotyped poses were shown in three-quarter profile in these paintings. Although Persian style greatly boosted the birth of Mughal paintings its influence did not last. The Indian painters in Akbar’s atelier learned the use of brilliant colours and refinement of lines, but their indigenous gift and intimate knowledge came out with all its brilliance in animal paintings which the Mughals liked. With the leaving of Mir Sayyid Ali in 1574, there is a distinct change in the later Hamza-Nama paintings, supervised by Khwaja Abdus Samad, which shows more dynamism and resemble mural painting. Thus a new style took shape under his direction.
In 1580, Akbar received a copy of the Bible with Flemish engravings. It interested Akbar and soon he brought many European paintings and got them copied. The Mughal artists learned to use perspective and shading the colours to create depth. They learnt to show the horizon and colouring the sky and clouds more realistically. In 1595, Mughal painters seemed to have assimilated western techniques and drawing three-dimensional paintings by use of shading and limited perspective. In was a great leap forward in Mughal Miniature. But in spite of western influence in figures and shading, artists still used enamel like colours that do not blend softly.
A large miniature volume of 164 paintings was done towards the end of Akbar’s reign. Thus he can be called as the true founder of Mughal Miniature Art. Akbar had left more than 2400 illustrated manuscripts in his library. He showed equal respect to both Islamic and Hindu manuscripts.
Features of Mughal Paintings:
- Mughal paintings denote the habits and customs of the ruling class.
- Book illustrations were the main subject of Mughal miniatures.
- Mughal miniatures were male-dominated as female nobles wore burkas in public and so paintings of women had to be done from imagination.
- No painting was done by a single artist it was a collective effort by 2 to 5 artists. The headman gave out orders, the chief artist did the actual layout and the lesser artists did the figures and background.
- Portraiture was an important feature of Mughal paintings which was never done before. Mughal painters depicted characters in likeness of personages with great expertise. The paintings were done in profile or quarter profile.
- In Jahangir’s reign nature is shown in beautiful paintings of birds, animals and flower representation.
- Bright and gaudy colours were replaced my soft subdued and less enamel like which pleased to both eye and heart. Brushes with a single hair were used to draw fine lines. The lines were so fine that the artist had to use mirrors.
- Halo around the head, calligraphic inscriptions and decorative borders were special features of this style.
Krishna Lifting the Mount Govardhana
Artist: Miskin
Period: Akbar
Medium: Watercolour in tempera
Description: Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana is an exquisite painting done during Akbar’s period. The painting depicts Krishna lifting the mountain with his little finger. The mountain has been made to appear realistically by painting massive rocks, deer and monkeys in between the rocks ridges and shrubs and grassy patches. The rendering of the mountain shows Persian influence. A little of the sky is visible above the mountain. Below the mountain all folks of Braja along with their cattle are taking shelter from the anger of the rain god, Indra. Blue is predominant in the painting. Krishna is drawn in Virata-Rupa (gigantic size). He is wearing pitambur (yellow cloth) and a large flower garland around his neck. He is in a relaxed position as he lifts the mountain effortlessly.
Babur crossing River Sone
Artist: Jagannath
Period: Akbar
Medium: Watercolour in tempera
Description: The painting ‘Babur crossing River Sone” is a blend of Persian and Rajasthani style. The Emperor Babur along with his 27 courtiers and attendants are painted with elaborate detail and description. There are six boats shown in the high tide of River Sone. Babur is sitting on a well decorated throne on large boat rowed by his attendants. He is wearing a red coloured royal costume with a turban on his head and waistband. In another boat his horse is being rowed by an attendant. The horse is muscular and sturdy looking and is in burnt umber colour. The horse has a blue saddle with gold borders on its back. In two of the other boats there are two gunmen trying to shoot an open mouthed crocodile. In the other boat, we can see 5 occupants around a rare fish they caught. Two of them are looking curiously at the fish and another two in blue and black costumes are looking towards Babur. The turbulent waves of River Sone are clearly. Waves and froth are easily noticeable. The foreground and background have light brown coloured rocks, in the background we can also see darkly shaded green trees. The horizon is in blue colour. This painting is a blend of Persian art with Indian elements and differs from Persian ornamentation. The monumentality of the composition, sense of space and refined elegance of colour are the remarkable aspects of this painting.
Jahangir holding the Picture of Madonna
Artist: Abdul Hasan
Period: Jahangir
Medium: Watercolour in tempera
Description: In this painting, Jahangir is holding the picture of Madonna presented to him from the Jessuit Father from Goa. The portrait shows decorative floral patterns which originally came from Persia and was developed during Jahangir’s reign. The artist Abdul Hasan was sent to Persia to paint a portrait of the Shah where he mastered the technique of floral designs. The floral border is present in the middle of the painting around Jahangir’s portrait and all around the edge of the painting.
In this early portrait, Jahangir is shown to be young and handsome with an aquiline nose, pointed chin and thin sensuous mouth. He is holding the portrait of Madonna in his right hand. This shows his liberal attitude towards Christian missionaries who visited the court from Portuguese Goa. There are golden and black stripes of calligraphy in vertical and horizontal order creating ornamental beauty to the portrait. The colour scheme is soft and less enamel like than previous paintings. They melt harmoniously together enhancing the aesthetic beauty. There is a faint suggestion of hallow around Jahangir’s head to glorify him.
Falcon on Bird rest
Artist: Ustad Mansoor
Period: Jahangir
Medium: Watercolour in tempera
Description: This painting depicts a tamed falcon sitting on a cushioned bird rest. The painting is well detailed and painted in a realistic manner. The isolated figure of the falcon in rigid profile is centrally positioned. It is painted in white against the yellow background contrasting to the brown-blackish colour of its folded wing. The black markings all over its wings suggest that the falcon is drawn in the likeness of Jahangir’s pet falcon. Jahangir who was a keen falconer was presented a superb falcon by the Emperor of Iran. It was caught by a cat and killed. So the Emperor could have asked Ustad Mansoor to make a painting of the falcon to be preserved in the Jahangir Nama.
The cruel expression of the falcon is an item of astonishment to those who have seen the painting. The sharp beak and vigilant eyes are done in dark yellow ochre. A patch of light blue marks the feathers on the back of its neck. There is a thin string hanging loosely from its neck to the ground. Parts of the inscription in Devnagri script are still visible and perhaps refer to the emperor’s best falcon. This painting is perhaps the best bird painting done in Jahangir’s atelier and is acclaimed by the world to be so.
Kabir and Raidas
Artist: Ustad Faquirullah Khan
Period: Shahjahan
Medium: Watercolour in tempera
Description: In this painting Saint Kabir is sitting in front of his hut weaving on his loom. His companion Saint Raidas is sitting next to him. The painting represents the simple and peaceful life of villagers where work and workmanship go hand in hand. The hut and landscape of the painting represents the rural life of the people. The painting is done in shades of brown and the border of the painting is blue.
There is a refined use of perspective in the rendering of the hut and atmosphere of the landscape. The light and shades in painting are well done especially in showing the ribs of saint Kabir. The painting is done on paper in tempera medium. Artist Faquirullah did the painting on request of Dana Shikoh.
The Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh
Artist: Haji Madni
School: Provincial Mughal (Avadh)
Medium: Watercolour in tempera
Description: This is a large painting done on paper in tempera medium. The painting shows the marriage procession of Dara Shikoh, the heir of Delhi Masnad. The Barat shows a large gathering of men, women and young boys of bride’s party. The light from fireworks, candles and torches illuminate the clapping and dancing of the crowd. The distinguished people of the barat are on horseback, including Emperor Shahjahan who has a halo around his head. The procession is led by Dara Shikoh who is dressed in brocaded angrakha and a veil of pearls. Dara Shikoh and the emperor are painted in profile like most other bridegroom’s procession only a few are in three quarter profile. The bride’s relatives are wearing multicoloured clothes with golden brocading. The women of the procession are riding an elephant in the far distance near the horizon. There is young boy dancing in front of the bridal reception party.
