Objectives

• Features and Evolution of Mughal Painting under:

• Jahangir : Mughal painting reached its zenith

• Shah Jahan : Stagnation and decline became visible

• Aurangzeb : Mughal painting vanished

• Questions
 Jahangir
• Peak of Mughal Painting

• Persian and Indian art became fully synthesised

• New elements emerged in Mughal painting

• European influence became predominant

• Focus shifted away from book illustrations

• Peak of Mughal portraiture

• Scenes from nature were richly depicted

• Popular/Provincial Mughal school of painting emerged

• New elements under Jahangir

• Naturalism and Idealism became the hallmarks of Jahangiri art.

• Human emotions such as joy, sadness, anxiety, anger, contentment were vividly
captured.

• Use of finer brushwork and lighter colours was started.

• Hashi’a art: the broad border (Hashi’a) of miniatures was heavily ornamented with
arabesque, vines, flowers, birds and animals. It emerged as an art form in its own
right.

• Nim Qalam (half-pen) technique, characterized by the use of ink outlines and subtly
modulated tonal washes accentuated with highlights in color and gold, gained
prominence.
• European elements

• Closer contact with Europeans such as traders, ambassadors and Christian

missionaries led to the introduction of European influence in painting.

• Single point perspective

• Halo, roaring clouds, ‘Putti’ and European clothes in paintings.

• Jahangir received gifts of European engravings and miniatures including portraits of

kings and queens and Christian religious art. Many such originals were collected and
multiple copies were made. Often, foreign themes were reinterpreted by Indian masters
and executed using Indian techniques.

• Thomas Roe has praised the quality of Indian painters and their skill in reproducing the
works of European masters.
• Book illustrations

• Instead of creating original works, Jahangir mostly added new paintings to

existing works. However, some magnificent original works were created.

• Ayar i Danish - book of animal fables

• Anwar i Sunavli - book of fables

• Tuzuk i Jahangiri - Jahangir’s autobiography

• Baburnama - Babur’s autobiography

• Of these, the Ayar i Danish was the most remarkable for its paintings of
animals and birds.
• Portraits

• Portrait painting reached new heights under Jahangir.

• Themes: Emperor, Empress, nobles, Fakirs, Sufi saints, Hindu gurus, dancers, soldiers, lovers
and artists were commissioned in large numbers.

• The important events of Jahangir’s reign were also painted, such as:

• Coronation Durbar

• Jharokha Darshan

• Tuladan ceremony on his birthday

• Festivals such as Holi and Nauroz

• Abul Hasan (Nadir uz Zama) and Bishandas were the master of portraiture.
• Paintings of natural scenery, birds, animals, fruits and flowers.
• Jahangir was a keen naturalist.
• He commissioned folios of all the exotic flora and fauna he came across.
• The most famous paintings in this genre include those of a Zebra, Turkey,
Slender Loris and Siberian Crane, Bengal Florican, Dodo and Falcon.

• Nature was also incorporated in portraits through the inclusion of natural

background and animals in them.

• Ustad Mansur (Nadir us Asr) was the leading painter of this genre.
• Popular/Provincial Mughal school of painting

• Following the example of the Mughal Emperor the courtiers and the provincial
officers also patronised painting.

• But the artists available to them were of inferior merit. The works of such painters
are styled as "Popular Mughal" or 'Provincial Mughal' painting.

• This style of painting has all same characteristics as the Imperial Mughal painting
but is inferior in quality.

• Razm-nama dated 1616.

• Rasikapriya (1610-1615).

• Ramayana of circa 1610.

• Important painters

• Aqa Riza • Manohar • Inayat

• Ustad Mansur • Balchand

• Abul Hasan • Mukhlis

• Bishandas • Daulat

• Govardhan • Bhim
 Shah Jahan
• Shah Jahan’s period witnessed stagnation and gradual decline in Mughal Painting

• Changes:

• Use of pencil instead of charcoal for sketching

• The use of gold and silver was encouraged

• Painters sought to capture the splendour and glory of the Mughals through painting

• Themes of his period include:

• musical parties; lovers, sometimes in intimate positions, on terraces and gardens; and
ascetics gathered around a fire; superimposition of animals and the scenes of
performing acrobats.
• Famous works include:
• Padshahnama
• Gulistan and Bustan of Sa’di
• Shah Jahan on the globe
• Important painters
• Bichiter • Mohammed Nadir of Samarquand

• Chaitaraman • Inayat

• Anup Chattar • Makr

• Reasons for decline
• Shah Jahan did not neglect the painting, but he lacked Jahangir’s aesthetic
sense in this field. Further, he was more interested in architecture. Thus,
Mughal painting gradually became cold and rigid.

• The focus was on showcasing royal splendour and might, thus neglecting
emotion, reality and nature.

• The superimposing of faces and figures on existing works became a

common practice. Thus, these paintings lacked cohesiveness.

• There was a profusion of court scenes with the overuse of bright colours
and gold for decoration.
 Aurangzeb
• Aurangzeb dismissed the Mughal atelier and shut down the department of
painting. He also defaced and whitewashed the wall paintings of Akbar’s
period.

• This was a result of his religious orthodoxy and the political constraints of his
reign.

• Following the loss of royal patronage, Mughal painters migrated to the Rajput
states of Rajasthan and Jammu, resulting in the emergence of the Rajasthan
and Pahari schools of painting.

• Apart from this, many Mughal painters received patronage under Mughal
courtiers and governors. This led to the growth of the Popular Mughal school.
 Questions
1. Which of the following statements is not true about Mughal Paintings under Shah
Jahan.

1. He discouraged the use of pencil for sketching and encouraged charcoal.

2. He encouraged the use of gold and silver in his paintings.
3. Human emotion has been captured vividly, giving a life like quality to these
paintings.

Choose the correct option from the codes given below.

(a) 1 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2 and 3 only
2. In the context of Mughal paintings, the term ‘Nim Qalam’ refers to:

(a) The art of decorating the borders around miniatures with intricate designs
of arabesque, vines, flowers, birds and animals.
(b) Treating the painting with neem extract to preserve it against pests.
(c) A technique involving the use of ink for drawing the outlines of figures,
painting over it with diluted colour and highlighting important elements with
bright colours and gold.
(d) None of the above
3. Which of the following was not an influence of European painting on
Mughal painting.

(a) The use of three dimensionality

(b) The use of single point perspective
(c) Beginning of oil paintings by Mughal painters
(d) Introduction of elements such as ‘Putti’
4. The Popular Mughal school of painting refers to

(a) Art patronised by the common people during the Mughal period
(b) Mughal art of comparatively inferior quality patronised by Mughal
courtiers and provincial officers
(c) Mughal art based of popular themes and common life
(d) All of the above