Chapter-03

The Mughal School of Miniature Painting

Q.1.Write about various phases of origin and development of the style of the Mughal
school of Miniature Painting in about 250-300 words.

Or

It is believed that „The Glory of the Mughal Miniature painting rose like rising sun with the
dawn of the Mughals and dwindled with the sunset of the Mughals‟.
Justify this statement by describing the continuous growth in Mughal Miniature
paintings. (Mention the „Golden Period‟ and the „Downfall‟).
Explain in brief, the painting „Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhana‟

Q.2. Write short notes on the compositional arrangements of the following miniatures
relating to the Mughal school.

(a) Marriage Procession of Dara Shukoh (b) Krishna lifting mount Govedhana

Q.3. Mention the main features of the Mughal school of Miniature Painting in
about 100-150 words.

Ans.3-The main features of the Mughal School of Miniature Paintings are.

 Mughal paintings denote the habits and customs of the ruling class. The painting is
secular, academic, objective, dramatic and eclectic.
 Book illustrations are the prime subject of Mughal miniature.
 Mughal miniature paintings are male dominated in character. The noble ladies never
came out in public without their ’Burkhah’. So, their portraits were drawn mostly
from imagination.
 No painting was done by a single artist, but was a collective effort of two to five
artists. The headman gave out the order while the chief artist did the actual layout,
after that lesser artists did the figure and painted the background and so on till the
painting was finished.
 An important feature of Mughal Paintings is the portraiture, which was never done
before. Mughal artists had always depicted types of characters and the likeness of all
the personages with superb expertness. The figures are depicted in profile or quarter
profile.
  In Jahangir’s reign the nature is shown in the delightful paintings of birds, animals and
flower representation.
 During his reign gaudy and bright colours were replaced by soft, subdued and less
enamel colour which pleased both the eye and the heart. Brushes with a single hair
were in use to draw fine lines. The lines were so fine that the artist had to use mirrors.
 The calligraphic inscription, ‘halo’ around the emperor’s head and decorative ‘hasiah’
(border) are the special features in this style.

Q. 4.Which human life values are expressed in ‘Kabir and Raidas? Write the ans. In about
100 words.

Q. 5. Evaluate the aesthetic beauty of ‘Marriage procession of Darashikoh ’ from Mughal

school which shows the connection and bond between Royal Figures and Royal Animals:
Q.6. Who was acknowledged as father of Mughal art? And Why?

Q. 7. What were subjects of the paintings painted in Mughal period?

Q.8. How had the Mughal Art reached its declining?

Q.9. Which two European elements of art have been observed in Mughal art? Who was
the emperor at that time?

Q.10- Assertion (A): The Mughal School of Miniature Painting used decorative borders to
enhance the beauty of the paintings.
Reason (R): Artists of Mughal courts used floral motifs and gold to
make their painting look royal and full of grandeur.
i. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
ii. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
iii. A is true but R is false
iv. A is false and R is True

Q.11- The highly realistic painting of Mughal School named ‘Falcon on Bird
Rest’ with Devanagari Script was made under the patronage of the
King: i. Aurangzeb ii. Jahangir iii. Akbar iv. Babur
Q.12-What direction did Aurangzeb give to the Mughal art?