‭ ughal Paintings – Jahangir & Shah‬

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‭Jahan‬
‭ ughal painting is seen as a dramatic episode in the history of Indian art for it is divergent from the‬
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‭expression of Hindu thought, and yet distinctively Indian. Its aims and standpoint are secular and‬
‭realistic: it is interested in passing events, and most typically in the exact delineation of individual‬
‭character in the portraiture of men and animals. The interests and preoccupations of Mughal painting‬
‭are closely identifiable with those of their imperial patron. They are reflections of both the‬
‭richly cosmopolitan court which he cultivated and maintained and of his direct involvement as director‬
‭of artistic activities and as principal critic. Mughal patronage of the arts was incessant and radically‬
‭innovative for the Indian context for it is closely linked with imperial ideology. In the following‬
‭paragraphs, we will seek to examine the art of Mughal painting especially in the reigns of Jahangir and‬
‭Shah Jahan, in the context of its symbolism and ideas behind its acceptance.‬

I‭n its subject matter and intention, the Mughal School of miniature art reflected the mind of the ruling‬
‭power and which played an important role in the propagation of imperial claims. Akbar (1556-1605) laid‬
‭the actual foundations of the school. After reaching its meridian under Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the‬
‭decline of the Mughal School of painting began under Aurangzeb, from whom the painters received little‬
‭encouragement. As more and more indigenous artists adopted the miniature style, it no longer remained‬
‭the court’s monopoly and was adapted to different ideas to form new schools of painting. Though‬
‭treatment was the same as the Mughals, the styles that the Rajputs of Rajputana & Punjab developed‬
‭was different in motives, temper and sentiment- this was the Rajput or Rajasthani phase.‬

‭Akbar‬

‭ kbar's great achievement was the creation of a distinctive school of painting. During his reign he‬
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‭established an academy in which about a hundred Hindu artists worked under the guidance of Persian‬
‭painters. Gradually these painters developed a style of their own which combines Persian, Hindu, and‬
‭European elements. Under him, the likes of Mir Sayyid Ali and Basawan were the most prominent‬
‭painters. Two main branches of art developed: portraiture and book illustration. The school had a‬
‭pictorial, a decorative and a technical section. The court painters had every facility to study the historic &‬
‭contemporary examples of their art in the imperial library. Persian & Indian styles were employed‬
‭separately as two distinct methods. In general, the illustrations in the books were used to reinforce‬
‭Akbar’s authority. The metaphor of light dominates his conceptualization of divinity, and the sun in turn‬
‭dominates the metaphor of light. This is especially noted in the paintings of his time.‬

‭Jahangir‬

‭ ercy Brown‬‭calls Jahangir’s reign, the “Meridian”‬‭(1610-25) when Mughal paintings reached maturity.‬
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‭The Persian and the indigenous art finally fused into one. Farrukh Beg was the leader of the school and‬
‭the last foreign artists were Muhammad Nadir and Muhammad Murad from Samarqand. The artists‬
‭recorded incidents of Jahangir’s daily life. Sharply defined colour contrasts characterized the‬
‭compositions. Calligraphic outlines define the miniatures while a certain level of symmetry was also‬
‭provided. Landscape effects were used in the backgrounds with a certain feeling for aerial perspectives.‬
‭ nimals and birds figure prominently and certain painters developed recognizable areas of expertise.‬
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‭The importance of winged angels and‬‭muraqqas‬‭(albums)‬‭cannot be ignored either.‬

‭ hen Jahangir became emperor, he dismissed many of his father’s less talented artists preferring‬
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‭instead to nurture a small group of highly gifted painters. Jahangir encouraged his artists to develop their‬
‭own particular talents, for example: Abul Hasan concentrated on court scenes and official history‬
‭subjects, Daulat and Bishandas created portraits, Mansur did natural history subjects and so on. Over the‬
‭course of the next twenty-two years, Jahangir’s painters focused upon realizing their own distinct version‬
‭of the imperial Mughal style. In doing so, they refined the energetic naturalism of the Akbari period into‬
‭a calmer, even more realistic style.‬

‭ ne of these, is Ustad Mansur, who received the title of‬‭Nadiru-l-Asr‬‭(miracle of the age), and in the‬‭art‬
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‭of drawing "was unique in his generation." Mansur is well known to modern students as a wonderful‬
‭painter of animals. A signed picture of a falcon survives, which is possibly the very one referred to by‬
‭Jahangir in the Memoirs for the fourteenth year of his reign (619 A. D.): "What can I write of the beauty‬
‭and colour of this falcon? " he says. "There were many beautiful black markings on each wing and back‬
‭and sides. As it was something out of the common, I ordered Ustad Mansur, who has the title of‬
‭Nadiru-l-Asr‬‭, to paint and preserve its likeness."‬‭Paintings of other animals such as of a zebra and a ram‬
‭although unsigned, are probably by the same artist.‬

‭ nother very prominent painter in Jahangir’s court was Abu-l-Hasan, who received the title of‬
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‭Nadiru-z-Zaman‬‭(wonder of the age), according to Jahangir,‬‭had "no rival or equal," and he was the‬
‭recipient of endless favours. We may take note of two specific portraits by Abu-l-Hasan to demonstrate‬
‭his artistry as well as how they reflect the Mughal ideology. The first is a portrait of the‬‭Emperor‬‭Jahangir‬
‭embracing Shah Abbas of Persia‬‭, dated to the year‬‭1617. The painting displays Jahangir, whose Persian‬
‭name means "Conqueror of the World” with his nemesis was Shah Abbas the Great, the shah of Iran,‬
‭generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. Although the two great men are shown‬
‭together, in reality they never met. We see, here, that Jahangir sees himself as cosmopolitan and a world‬
‭ruler. He is portrayed as more elegantly dressed and younger than Shah Abbas.‬

T‭ o proclaim the Mughal emperor’s superiority, the artist Abu-l-Hasan cleverly manipulated symbols of‬
‭sovereignty. The globe, which represents earthly rule and alludes to Jahangir’s name, becomes the stage‬
‭for his disingenuous bear hug of the smaller, less opulently dressed shah. His lion mount even nudges‬
‭the shah’s lamb back towards Iran.‬

F‭ urthermore, t‬‭he painting is replete with symbols‬‭and is obviously allegorical: the sun and the moon‬
‭forming a halo against which the heads of the twosome are presented; the winged cherubs who keep‬
‭the halo aloft; the lion and the lamb under the feet of the two emperors; the globe marked by a map of‬
‭the world on which they stand. The halo is significant in our study of divine luminosity as it quite literally‬
‭portrays the divinity of Jahangir’s kingship. What is significant to note is that at the time the picture was‬
‭painted, Shah Abbas was hardly submissive and Jahangir was by no means the master of their‬
‭antagonistic relationship.‬‭J.M. Dye‬‭contends that‬‭despite its grandiose imagery, the painting suggests‬
‭that Jahangir was somewhat discomforted by their military rivalry.‬

T‭ he second portrait also attributed to Abu-l-Hasan, that we may examine, one‬‭in gouache heightened‬
‭with gold leaf on a fine woven cotton canvas, shows the emperor seated on a European-style throne. He‬
‭is seen holding a globe signifying supremacy and power.‬ ‭This portrait of Jahangir is one of the finest,‬‭in‬
‭ hich the glorification of the emperor is enhanced by a golden halo. It may be noted that the halo in the‬
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‭portrait of Jahangir can be further viewed in the light of the auspicious title,‬‭Nuruddin‬‭(The Light‬‭of Faith)‬
‭adopted by the Emperor for himself on the day of his coronation. It is important to note also, that during‬
‭the time of Akbar, the halo never occupied a place in human portraits. From the time of Jahangir‬
‭onwards, it went on to become a symbol of divine light, restricted to the image of the Emperor only.‬

I‭t is important to note is the western (and particularly, biblical) influence on allegorical paintings like‬
‭these. Before 1615, Jahangir’s painters usually presented him in a narrative context, but after that time,‬
‭he is often shown as a majestic figure isolated with symbols of wealth and power. These changes, which‬
‭deliberately glorify Jahangir, reflect the increasingly sacral character of the Mughal emperor. Such a‬
‭conscious use of painting for political ends would come to dominate the imperial art under the next‬
‭emperor, Shah Jahan.‬

J‭ ahangir also praised and patronised Hindu painters such as Bishandas and Balchand. Bishandas‬
‭specialized in portraiture and in his “Memoirs”, Jahangir mentions that he sent Bishandas to Persia along‬
‭with Khan’ Alam “to take portraits of the Shah and the chief men of his State…” Among Balchand’s work,‬
‭his most compelling one is “‬‭The Death of Inayat Khan‬‭".‬‭The subject is extremely rare and the preliminary‬
‭drawing of the painting has also survived. Inayat Khan, emaciated and pale, is shown sitting upright on a‬
‭palanquin, his disease ravaged body supported by bolsters and pillows. His eyes are glazed, but he‬
‭remains at attention, wearing a hat and jacket as a gesture of respect for his ruler and court etiquette.‬
‭This stark image of death’s nobility and its indignities is perhaps the epitome of Jahangiri realism.‬

‭Shah Jahan‬

S‭ ultan Khurram, the third son of Jahangir, who was given title of Shah Jahan began his reign in 1628.‬
‭Under Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire reached its classical phase of greatest prosperity and stability.‬
‭While it is generally believed and understood that he emphasized more on architecture to proclaim his‬
‭power and might, one must not ignore the development of Mughal painting in his period. Inheriting a‬
‭highly eclectic court which functioned mainly under imperial authority as its main guarantee, Shah Jahan‬
‭tried even more consistently than his predecessors to live up to his self-created image. Thus,‬
‭architecture, art, poetry, historiography and court life during his reign all served to manifest the imperial‬
‭ideal.‬

T‭ herefore, when examining painting under Shah Jahan,‬‭Eba Koch‬‭firstly takes note of an ever-increasing‬
‭formalization of the court arts, which were represented as a necessary instrument to rule. It is true that‬
‭the personal tastes of the first six Mughal rulers dominated the arts so much that art historians have‬
‭used the spans of their reigns to indicate artistic periods. Yet, under no ruler was Mughal court art so‬
‭strictly regulated as under Shah Jahan. He made the personal overseeing of artists a part of his daily‬
‭routine, thus acting as the director of what Koch calls “Shah-Jahani perfectionism”. This is mentioned by‬
‭his first court historian, Qazwini who says that the emperor’s daily morning session with his artists in the‬
‭Dawlat Khana-i-Khass‬‭(The Hall of Private Audiences)‬‭also included the close inspection of his painters.‬

‭ owever, the general representation of Shah Jahan seems to portray him especially as a tireless builder‬
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‭and master of architecture. Painting seems to have been always more controversial, because of the‬
‭theological injunction against the depiction of human and animal life. This seems to be the reason why‬
‭Lahawri, Shah Jahan’s later historian who revised Qazwini’s first volume, seems to omit the explicit‬
‭references to painters. This purging of the text to play down the emperor’s involvement with painting‬
r‭ eflects the increasingly orthodox concerns of Shah Jahan himself. Yet, despite this, we may still note his‬
‭highly personal involvement in the work of the painters through the pictorial evidence of the artists’‬
‭direct access to the ruler. Many artists not only included self-portraits in the‬‭darbar‬‭scenes but also‬‭left‬
‭written statements or signatures on their depictions of the wall below the‬‭jharoka‬‭or of the platform‬‭or‬
‭stool on which the‬‭Mir Bakhshi‬‭(Head of Personnnel)‬‭would step up to present a petition.‬

S‭ hah Jahan inherited not only a well-established and wealthy realm, but also his father’s carefully‬
‭nurtured artists. Deciding to keep many of them in court, he continued the naturalistic Jahangiri style‬
‭and like his father, he preferred individual paintings done by a single artist and mounted in an album.‬
‭Although many features of Jahangiri painting were continued under Shah Jahan, they soon transformed‬
‭into something quite different. The realistic techniques of Jahangir’s artists were no longer used to‬
‭define the inner character and outward appearance of a subject, but to idealize and glorify it.‬

‭ llegorical portraits of Shah Jahan were statements of imperial power more than state portraits.‬‭Shah‬
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‭Jahan, Master of the Globe‬‭(1629) is obviously based‬‭upon paintings such as‬‭Jahangir Embracing Shah‬
‭Abbas‬‭(1617), yet it differs from it in telling ways.‬‭Symbolic portraits for Jahangir often had a decidedly‬
‭human dimension. They revealed the emperor’s hopes and sometimes, his fears and frequently, they‬
‭referred to specific historical events. In comparison,‬‭Shah Jahan, Master of the Globe‬‭is a superficial‬‭icon‬
‭created to impress us with the majesty of the Mughal dynasty. The emperor, holding a sword and an‬
‭amulet, is shown atop a globe, painted with allegorical figures: the scales representing justice, the lion‬
‭lying with the lamb, representing the peace that follows the emperor’s just rule and delicately drawn‬
‭holy men that attest to the emperor’s humility and wisdom.‬

I‭t is notable that every likeness of Shah Jahan painted during his reign is characterised by a cool‬
‭formality, regardless of the artists. Shah always appears aloof and mostly, with a halo around his head.‬
‭He bears fixed symbolic attributes that proclaim his superior wisdom and power (sword, dagger, amulets,‬
‭turban ornament, etc.) Transient feelings and human vulnerability are never revealed in his face, his eyes‬
‭firmly fixed in the distance.‬

I‭n the‬‭Padshahnama‬‭, several miniature paintings of‬‭the court, palace and even outdoors abound. Within‬
‭these, it is clear that they were highly complex creations that reached far beyond their apparent function‬
‭as illustrations of a historical narrative. Koch mentions that programmatic statements were expressed‬
‭through artistic means and thereby, artistic style served as an interpretational key. The formal linear‬
‭idiom stood for the power structure of Shah-Jahani rule as his paintings displayed a characteristic‬
‭hierarchical principle. Naturalism was used beyond expressing genuine aesthetic interests but also to‬
‭grade strata within the power structure giving Shah Jahan’s ordered world the utmost appearance of‬
‭reality. To most art historians, no other instance in the history of art comes easily to mind wherein the‬
‭artistic form was so methodically manipulated for non-artistic aims, namely imperial ideology. What is‬
‭clear is that Shah Jahan understood the political role assigned to the arts.‬

I‭t is interesting to also note though that not all painting was political. The love of Shah-Jahani painters for‬
‭idealised physical reality and opulent eefects even extends to lush depictions of birds, animals and‬
‭flowers – subjects far from the realm of imperial power and glory. While Jahangiri paintings of tulips‬
‭record the appearance of the flower with almost scientific accuracy, Shah-Jahani flower paintings of the‬
‭same are usually rendered with a sense of dramatic exaggeration‬‭. Tulips and an Iris‬‭painted in‬
‭mid-seventeenth century are so stylized, that as‬‭S.C.‬‭Welch‬‭has noted, they seem to have human‬
‭characteristics; a royal tulip, a demure iris and a slightly embarrassed‬‭tulipa montana‬‭.‬