<7 Mughal School of Miniature (4) Painting San Babur (1526-30), the fifth descendent of Taimurlung conquered Northern India in 1526 and established the Mughal empire in India. From his mother’s side, he carried the blood of Chengiz Khan, the great Mongol and in him Babur carried the characteristic of greatness from both the dynasties. He inherited Taimur’s qualities of patronising music, poetry and philosophical learning and had inherent love of art as well. His hectic life of four years of 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. There he had seen the famous paintings of ‘Bihzad Shah Musavir and his followers. This overwhelming love for Persian painting 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), his son was born with his father’s artistic inclination but lacked the grit and determination of Babur. Before he could consolidate his empire, he was driven to exile by Sher Shah Suri, an usurper in 1540. He took shelter under the Persian Safavid rulers. There at Herat, like his father Babur, he too fell in love with the grandeur of Persian painting. During his exile, he met two young masters of Tabrez and Shiraz, Khwaja Abdus | Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali He regained his empire in‘1555 and brought the two master painters, Khwaja Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Alli. It is believed that Akbar in his childhood received painting lessons from Khwaja Abdus Samad while Humayun had setup his court in Kabul. This helped Akbar in acquiring the taste for artistic creation. According to some critics, Humayun before his death in 1556, had set his artists to take up illustrating the great and the earliest Mughal manuscript |Dastan-i-Amir-Hamza’ popularly known as Hamza- Nama while he was still in Kabul in 1 1550. The Hamza-Nama series, illustrating popular romantic stories with many legends of the Prophet Mohammad’s uncle and is considered a popular book in the Persian literature, painted on cloth. Akbar (1556-1605) succeeded to throne at the age of thirteen in 1556. Though illiterate hehad a thirst for knowledge and started the illustrations of several literary religious texts. He himself had received training in arts by ‘Khwaja Abdus Samad in his childhood. Once on thethrone, he built up the great imperial atelier (studio) with the best equipment and recruited the best among the Hindu painters 1 id, Miskin, Mahesh ig the Painters like Baswan, Jagannath (Jagan), Mukund, Mis ‘ and Madhav singled out as master painters by Abul rial ih his ‘Ain-i-Akbar? . There wer Dre caually important Hindu painters in Akbari Taswirkhana (atelier). OF them Anan, rraeiadasand Manohar became favourite and important painters in Jahangit Sea (du artists worked under the guidance of Persian masters Mir Sayyid Al and Abdus Samad. \ In the workshop, no painting was done by a single person but was a collective effon of two to five persons. The headman gave out the various orders while the chief artist did the actual layout, after that the lesser artists did the figure and painted the background and so on till the painting was finished. Thus it looked more like a craft than fine art, According to some art critics the preliminary drawing was done in red on a varnished paper and after necessary correction it was finally drawn in black. Afterwards a thin white pigment was applied on the Paper. Over this the actual miniature was painted cither with gouache or tempera method, The first series of illustrations for ‘Dastan-i-Amir-Hamza’ (Hamza Nama) which began in Humayun’s time in 1550 (or 1556) took twenty five years to finish in 1575 (or 1582). All the 1375 paintings in the twelve unsewn folios show a consistency in style because Mir Sayyid Ali had planned out the whole work in the Safavid ot Persian style though he was assisted by a number of Indian painters. These early illustrations show the dominance of Persian style, a two-dimensional decorative painting without shading or perspective, It has wonderful line drawings and brilliant enamel like colours. Hilly landscapes, from the background of the painting with the sky were painted either in gold or blue, enlarged flowers as found in the design of carpet were profusely used in the painting and human figures often in stereotyped poses were shown in three quarter profile in these paintings. These paintings were unusually large, over two feet high and proportionately broad. These were too much large for miniature painting. The word miniature which came from the Italian word Miniatura or the Latin Miniare, means a picture with small dimension, The Rajput and the Mughal paintings were often large but still called miniatures as they were based on manuscripts, and portraits, figurative drawing, illustrating certain incidents from ancient manuscripts. 4 och The Mughal miniatures were painted for the albums according to the descriptions of Persian manuscripts like Hamza Nama, Sadi’s Gulistan (moral tales), Hafiz’s Diwan or the Persian version of Mahabharata (Razm Namayor Ramayana. In the same manner, Rajput paintings were based on Sanskrit manuscript of Geet-Govinda, Bhagvat Puran, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Panchatantra. Although the Persian style greatly boosted the birth of the Mughal style, its influence did not last. The Indian painters in Akbar’s Taswirkhana learned the use of brilliant colours and refinement of lines, but their indigenous gift and intimate knowledge came out With all brilliance in the animals painting 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 Abdus Samad, show more dynamism and resemble mural painting, Thus a new style took shape under his direction, B tarand “ Ae beep cory of the Bible with Flemish engravings. It interested : ght many European paintings to his atelier and got them copied. The al artists learned to use perspective and shading the colours to bring out the depth of the painting. They leamed to show horizon and colouring the sky and cloud more realistically | _ By 1595, Mughal painters seemed to have assimilated Westem techniques and drawing three-dimensional paintings by means of shading and limited use of perspective. It ‘at leap forward in Mughal miniature painting. The illustration of historical manuscripts is a distinct contribution by Akbar’s Taswirkhana. These include * -i-Alfi’ (history of the world), ‘Jami-al-Tawarikh’ (history of Mongols), ‘Darab Nama’, ‘Shah Nama’, ‘Taimur Nama’, ‘Babur Nama’. There were mostly Indian painters and a Persian painter Farukh Beg who brought Mongolian and Chinese flavour into the paintings. In spite of Western influences in figures and shading, the colours remain enamel like and do not blend sofily as seen in the painting ‘Akbar receiving news of Salim’s birth’ where strong colours adjoin each other. The sphere of spiritual works of Akbar’s reign include *Yogavashist” (Hindu Vedan philosopher) and ‘Nafthat-ul-uns’ (breaths of fellowship) the book on Sufi-saints. Some of the paintings illustrated in the book represent lively pictures of Indian villages, life anc customs. Another important feature of Akbar’s Mughal paintings is the portraiture, whic! had never been done before. Except very few individual persons pictured from memory a Ajanta, Indian artists had always depicted types and characters. Under Akbar’s orders artis depicted the likeness of all the personages in his court with superb expertness. This exerte " great influence on later Rajput painting.) Mughal miniature painting is male dominated in character. The noble ladies observe strict purdah and never came out in public without their ‘Burkhah’. So their portraits we drawn mostly from imagination. Though the pictures of professional singers and dancers h: been shown in Akbar Nama. 2 Akbar was very fond of animal fables. The *7utinama’ (the parrot tales) and Suhailf’ show cach birds and animals with detailed realism and rendered with keen percep ic of their anatomy and movements. He was not happy with the Persian version of: Al-Kas (Penchatantra by Vishnu Sharma). He gota simple version by Abul Fazal in [S88 and hac larper miniature volume of 164 paintings done towards the end of his reign, / Thus Akbar can be called the true founder of the Mughal School of Miniature Pants Albay had eft mnore than 2400 illustrated manuscripts in his library, He showed equal resp to both the Islamic and the Hindu religious text imThe painting *Krishna Lifting the Mount Govardhana’ is an exquisite piece from *s ateher. It shows Krishna holding the mount Govardhana on his little finger. The tain has been made to appear realistic by painting massive rocks, large trees, and innumerable animals like deer and monkeys. Shrubs and grassy pastures are painted between rocky nidg The rendering of the mountain shows strong Persian influence. A little bit of sky is visible above the mountain. Below the mountain, all folks of Braja are gathered along with their cattle to take shelter from the delige caused by the angry rain-god, Indra. Blue js the predominant colour in this painting. Lord Krishna is painted in his ‘Virata-rupa’ ntic size). He is dressed in usual ‘Pitambar? (yellow cloth) and a large garland of white flowers hanging from his neck. He stands in a relaxed posture lifting the huge mountain effortlessly. This painting was painted for the manuscript ‘Harivansh’. Birth of Salim - Ramdas Illustrations of biographical manuscripts became the distinctive contribution of Akbar's atelier. The ‘Akbar Nama' is an outstanding example of the period AD 1590s. Here, each painting is the work of a single artist, text is written by a master calligrapher, each page is decorated in golden colour, painted and lacquered. The first volume of the second illustrated version of Abul Fazal's ‘Akbar Nama’ or History of Akbar deals with the Mughal ancestors and their habits and customs. After AD 1590, Mughal paintings revealed the assimilation of Western techniques, modelling of three-dimensional figures by means of chiaroscuro. Enamel-like colours were used and soft blending was avoided, as is clearly seen in the painting "Birth of Salim’. The picture shows the royal palace of Mughals. It is the scene of people gathering to celebrate the birth of Prince Salim at Fatehpur Sikri. In the queen's chamber, on the upper storey, the attendants are taking care of the newly born baby. Outside the Zenna (lower storey), within the palace walls, musicians are seen blowing trumpets and beating drums. Attendants are bringing food and money to distribute to the poor who are gathered outside the palace. A small landscape peeps through the top right-hand corner. The architecture shows the marked influence of the Persian style. Prince Salim (1605-27) ascended the throne with the title Jahangir in 1605 and ruled till 1627. Due to the talent and administrative ability of his father, he enjoyed a peaceful rule and with his competent wife Nurjahan who looked after the political affairs of the Kingdom, Jahangir had enough leisure to indulge in his hobbies. Among the rulers Of India and elsewhere Jahangir can be considered as the greatest art critic and lover, Apart from Aga Riza, a master of Safavid school and his son Abul Hasan and other noted painters from Akbar’s atelier Bisharidas, Bichittar, Manohar, Goverdhandas, Ustad Mansur with their combined effort made Mughal art reach its highest peak, incinerate laaBook illustrations, once the prime subject of the Mughal miniature, gradually became outdated and Jahangir’s preference leaned on representation of fables and portraitures. He commissioned a new set of albums based on Al-Kasifi’s, Persian rendering of Panchatantra. / During his: reign, Mughal nature painting became more realistic. He sent his painters to different parts of the empire to draw the pictures of rare birds, animals and trees or got the specimen brought to his court for the artist to paint them from first hand knowledge. The Emperor's great love of nature is shown in the delightful paintings of animal and flower representation. His painters ofien accompanied him and painted the pictures of whatever flower or animal pleased him. These are much lovelier than his court scenes. But unfortunately, very few example of these paintings remain. The Turkey cock with ruffled feathers and glowing colours shows his majesty. The pale background and exquisite border enhance the effect. Other outstanding examples are Chameleon and Zebra by Ustad Mansur and squirrel on Chenar tree by Abul Hasan whom the emperor esteemed highly. The gold background, orange colour leaves and the deer recall Persian influence strongly. Court scenes and different episodes of his life and paintings recording the pomp 2and splendour of the Mughal empire are typical of this period. Paintings likeJahangir - embracing Shahjahan’ or ‘Emperor Jahangir celebrating the festival of Gulab phasi” are outstanding paintings of this class. But they have set a lack of vitality. The emperor sits on his throne in centre with courtiers surrounding him. Courtiers in full profile, but they carerfully portray individual character. Jahangir reintroduced the decorated border of the Persian style around 1570. These borders had floral animal motifs intersperred with gold. The calligraphy pages had pictures of hunting craft, occupation, portraits of the calligraphers and artists. Portraiture painting of individual and groups became more important than in another period. In portraiture painting, Jahangir introduced certain improvement on the Akbari style. The persons painted instead of standing or sitting in front of building or inside, the portraits of Jahangir-stand against the plane turquoise or green background cither in profile or three-quarters. Towards the end of his reign, the aging emperor indulged in fantasi s. Tt Jahangir prefering a Sufi-Shaikh to Kings, an allegory painted by Bichittar around 1625 shows the emperor sitting on a big hour-glass with two cherubs writing something, he hands (is handing) a book to a shaikh, Next to him the Ottoman Sultan stands with folding hands and king James-I of England waiting below. There huge alo around the emperor's head composed of the sun and the moon, To glorify himself, he started o have halo around his own portrait, This he copied from the picture brought to him by the Jesuit Father, This shows Jahangir, toward the end of his reign, had pictures painted for self glorification. é . The painting,ed in Europcar and more interested in Europea, | ing, the colour shal painting, oun | i ther in the naturalistic During this period, Jahangir became more painting. European technique began to be adopted in | became softer and less-enamel like, They melted harmoniously (£4 representation of the landscape. falcon by Shah Abbas, ked his best painter hangir Nama. Jahangir who was a keen faleoner, was presented with a superb Fa the Emperor of Iran, It was caught by a cat and was killed. Jahangir 25° Ustad Mansoor to make a picture of his pet falcon to be preserved in the Jal ep ¢ In his famous painting “F: 1s Bird-Rest’, Mansoor has painted a tameg painting ‘Falcon on a Bird-Rest’, Man: ‘at realistic mann falcon resting on a cushioned bird-rest. The falcon is painted in a great rea" me y With a refinement of details, The bird is painted in white against the yellow rt aie which is contrasted with the brownish-black feathers of its folded wings. “PD 80 alee figure of the falcon shown on its perch in rigid profile is centrally positione a composition. Black markings all over the wings suggest that it is in the likeness of the pet-falcon of Jahangir. The expression of cruelty in its eyes is an item of great astonishm: have seen it. The sharp beak and round vigilant eye are painted in shades of deep yellow ochre. A patch of light blue marks the feather on the back of its neck. A thin string is tied around the falcon’s neck and hangs loosely to the ground. The picture is perhaps the bes specimen of a bird painting done in Jahangir’s atelier and is acclaimed by the world to be so Parts of an inscription in Devnagri script are still visible in the painting. Three word ‘Jahangir Paat-spal’, ‘Bahari’ and ‘Uttam’ are written which perhaps refer to the emperor’ best falcon. In Shahjahan (1627-58), we don’t find the deep love for painting. as we find i Akbar or Jahangir. The constant efforts to understand life and the love for life that w find in the paintings during the Jahangir’s regime are absent in Shahjahan. His love wa more for architecture than in painting. His genius flourished in the creation of exquisit and immortal architecture like the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Jama Masjid, which at living monuments of his love for pomp and splendour and sense of personal glorificatiot Though he was a patron of art, but to him it was a means to achieve “his_person immortality. Mughal painting which was gradually coming away from Persian influent now completely separated itself. Most of the paintings were of Shahjahan himself on h “Peacock throne’ with his courtiers around him, but the paintings were stylised and rigi It lacked both Akbar’s realism or Jahangir’s naturalism. His love for beauty and pleasu made the artists draw many portraits of beautiful ladies. . Another characteristic of his age is ‘Siyahi Qalam’, fine line drawing with blac ink slightly tinted with washes of pale colour and gold. ~ . In the illustration of b adshah Nama’ (Biography of Shahjahan)\the portral of the Emperor and his courtier are doll-like, expressionless and Motionlos: even rand hunting scenes are dull and monotono SPs aetasiara i Ne ent to those who ~ Event1 NCTHIMAEY oUcHg | fed it ‘ odified ard | The limited background of Shahjahan’s painting iS MCC" iy the ladies of th) Where natural surroundings appear with landscape. The EMPL’ re creative withoy such pains n themes whig court frequently visited the hermitages of saint hh Christial Royal splendour and rigidity. There are some paintings Wit? have also been discovered now. All his portraits are in profile with a halo a flower in his hand. drawn and soft colouy, Night scenes of hunting with blazing fire have been neatly i. Gaudy and brigh tablishing its separation from —s sad heart. Brus have been very finely fused colour has been replaced by sofi subdued colour pleasing to pariae! they created the had to use mirrors, with a single hair were in use to draw fine lines. With this oe painting of fine muslin vei he lines were so fine that the arts . By then the quality of Mughal art from Shahjahan’s time started © Sean the political unrest towards the end of his reign was the primary reason Fr Te Tao the quality of Mughal painting. The strict discipline that the artists had to oberave Willy painting court scenes where even a slight deviation would irritate the emperor. This fear did not allow the artist to paint freely which resulted in the downfall of the standard of painting. In the painting, ‘Kabir and Raidas? Saint Kabir is painted sitting beside his hu weaving on his loom. His companion Saint Raidas is sitting close by. Both are lost in deep discussion on some subject. The painting brings forth the simple and peaceful life in Indian villages where work and worship go hand in hand. The hut of the saint and the landscape represent the rural landscape of Indian villages. The colours used are shades of brown and the border of the painting is blue. In the painting, refined rules of perspective have been successfully employed in the rendering of the hut and the atmosphere of the background. Light and shade is very expertly used to indicate the ribs of Saint Kabir. The painting referred to is painted on paper in Tempera medium. Faquirullah Khan was a noted portrait painter in the atelier of Shahjahan. The picture was probably, painted by Faquirullah at the request of Dara Shikoh. He had gi regard for the Hindu saint of his time like Kabir and Raidas. - Aurangzeb (1658-1707) a ended the throne in 1658, He was a fanatic and did no! patronise any art. Culture lost its vilality and finally the rich style of painting declined. He had many relatives imprisoned in Gwalior Fort and from time to time he ge their portrait painted to know their condition of health, So in a Way, it can be said th he did not stop the art of painting in his empire, but he used it for Selfish, motive Ate old artists stayed to his atelier but the rest left in search of new shelter and the F : a A: Sulla > is seen holdin, around his head and he nging came to be born 4. 2 aint Peneipalities openly invited them and thus a new style of P “Pahari Painti . Provincial School of Mughal Painting With the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Sc ssors who came afier him, were like puppet in the court, three emperors we sinated. A period of uns' Delhi. Finally Emperor Mohammad Shah ascended the throne a was able to bring back some order in Delhi Sultanate. (Gears dependence. In 173) In the meantime, provincial rulers started declaring their indepsneehcr ee Nawab of Oudh declared his independence. He sot his capital in Lucknow Te ous painters from Delhi court found shelter in Lucknow. Like Oudh, an independe econ, stabli . Fi there. Thus, branche; Was established in Hyderabad. A group of painters found shelter the vas sligh of Mughal painting were established in Oudh and Hyderabad. Their style was slightly different from Mughal school of Painting. : [Aspiring young artists came to Delhi to learn the art of painting from the Mughs master painters and they together with the older artists from the Mughal court spree the Mughal manner to distant parts of India known as Provincial Mughal Schools wher: Mughal and local painting styles fused.) The main centres were Oudh, Hyderabad, Faizabad, Murshidabad and Patz where a weakened Mughal style flourished. These painters established different ‘Kalam’ (school) there. : “The Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh’ is a large painting done on paper in tempera medium. It’s a picture of the wedding procession of Dara Shikoh, the hei apparent of the Delhi Masnad. The ‘Barat’ is received by a large gathering of men women and young boys of bride’s party. There are lights of fire-works, candle and torches illuminating the whole scene with brilliant light and showing the clapping and singing crowd of the bride’s relatives. Most of the distinguished people of the ‘Barat’ are on hone back including Emperor Shahjahan himself who has a halo round his head, Prince Dar. Shikoh is leading the procession himself, He is wearing a brocaded angrakha and veil of pearls. The bride’s relatives are dressed in brilliantly coloured clothes decorated with golden colour. Dara Shikoh and his father Emperor Shahjahan are Painted in profile s° are most of the bridegroom's procession only a few figures are in a three-quarter profile. ‘companying the barat are shown riding on elephant in the far distance nest he bride's relatives receiving the guests are wearing multicoloured dresses poet to be neayy, Painting came Carly foes s. Due to the conspirag, ettled state prevailed j, nd till his death in 174; 1 extinet. The succe: The women a the horizon. with golden brocading. In front of the bridal reception Party, a boy is seen dancing with abandon with the beat of drums, ig‘Shoo! of Miniature Painting 1. Mugha ; class. The Mughal painting do e ruling class. The pa seinen hing denotes the habits and customs ofthe ruling Paintin, : icademic, objective, dramatic and eclectic. > Book illustrations are the prime subject of Mughal miniature. 3. Mughal miniature ie inated i : ss sg al miniature ‘Smale dominated in character. The noble ladies never can, From Ole without their “Burkhah*. So. then portraits were dravin mos, from imagination, IS secular, ” Painting was done by a single artist, but was a collective effort of two to five Sts. The headman 8aV¢ out the order while the chief artist did the actual layou |’ afer that lesser artists did the figure and painted the background and so on ti] the | painting was finished, ~ An important feature of Mughal painting is the portraiture, which was never done before. Mughal artists had always depicted types and characters and the likeness of alll the personages with Superb expertness. The figures are depicted in profile quarter profile, 6. 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 ang less-enamel colour which pleased both the eye and the heart. Brushes witha wn had to use mirrors. 8. The calligraphic inscription, ‘halo’ around the emperor’s head and decorative “hasiah’ (border) are the special features in this style. 1. Who is the painter of the painting ‘Krishna Lifting the Mount Govardhan’; () Manaku (ii) Ramdas (Miskin (i) Jagannath 2. On which epic, the famous miniature ‘Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan basea? (i) Rasikpriya (i) Babar Nama (ii) Akbar Nama (iv) Harivansh 2, The Word ‘Bahari’ is written in which painting: i (i) Kabir and Raidas (i) Falcon on a bird-rest (ii) Birth of Salim (iv) Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh 4, Mention the colour of the dhoti of Krishna in the painting ‘Krishna Ufting the Mount Govardhan’: s0-saloyy a ake i bchared, pti (Brown iniature painting is 0 : 5, in which place the Mughal mini an raee (il) Agra UW) Deni () Shiraz® . “16 se Wwlount Govan " ‘dhan’ Krishna lifts the mountain on which finy ich finger: Ring 2 stablished Mughal art in nig ome D ? shal art in India: (iif) Little abar ‘ (iv) Mid _—— e o : (ii) Hum: g, The famous manuscript ‘Padsha Nama’ aa Aiy-akbar i () Jahangir ( 7 was written in the name of: (iv) Jahangir ii) Akbat ¢ g, Mention the medium of th "hone (iii) 4 (i) Oillon Canvas © aa Kabir and Raidas’: Bmemavun) © (eid stahan 1 ow : ii) Water Col “Gia . yo. ‘Razm Nama is : lour (ili) Acrylicon paper (iv) W: (i) Mlustration of ‘Babar Nama’ hie (ii) illustration of ‘Zafar Nama’ (i) Illustration of ‘Akbar Nama’. u. et of the time period is known as Golden Period of ane ea ) Humayun (ii jughal Art? . i) Akbar 42, Who was an animal and bird paint ee (iv) Shahjab er os jahan (i) Bichittar in Jahangir’s reign? (ii) Abul Hasan (if) Manohar 13, Answer to be written in about 30 words. (y) Ustad Mansoor (9) Write short notes on the subject-matter of the following paintings: (a}-Krishna Lifting Mount Goverdhan Kabii i (e} Falcon on a birth-rest ben (i) Write short notes on the compositional arrangeme (g) Birth of Salim (ii) Write short notes on the following: (a}-Tempera (b) Miniature (iv) Mention any two features of the Mughal miniatu (v) Which message is expressed by the painter of the painting ‘Kabir and Ral 14, Answer to be written in about 100 words. (i) Write note on the following with special reference to the painting included in your course 0} jich Hindu God-Goddesses an int of the following painting (b) Marriage procession of Dara Shikoh re painting during Jahangir’s period. das’? study: (g)- The Mughal School of Miniature painting was secular, in whi saints were also depicted. (p} The tendency of composing crow Mughal miniature painting. hievements of the following ‘Mughal paint: ded scenes involving too many forms and figures in th ers, with special reference to hi 15. Evaluate the artistic ac! art-work included in your course of study: , () Haji Madni (ii) Ramdas (ii) Ustad Faquirullah Khan. 16. Answer to be written in about 200 words. ini jinting come into existence? niature Painting. ubject matter sons on the ba (i) How did Mughal Schoo! (ii) Describe any five features of iil) How far has the painter been successful i n following miniature paintings? Give your appropriat parameters? {o) Maria {c) Birth of Salim and composition of th the Mughal school of Mi sis of the aesthetic in depicting the st te rea: Lifting Mount Goverdhan (b) Krishna na bird rest a Shikoh. (a) Falcon 0" ge procession of Dari 7 0 words. oO 7 My bere ie about Selopment of the Mughal School ‘of Miniature painting chool of Miniature painting, () Describe the origin Uil) Describe the features fof the Mughal 5Deccan School of Miniature Painting ‘ Pa eee , 2 Joped during , Deceani Islamic painti a a style that devel : a eccant Islamic painting indicates a particular painting sty! brahim Adil Shah ¢; limited period from 1347 to 1627, and ended with the death of I Ahmadnagar, though a Wweakened form of it survived till the 19th century. The typicg| Deceani painting survived for about 400 years from the 15th century to 19th century This is a scanty period in comparison to the Deccani style of painting which originates in 2nd century B.C. to the present age in some form or other. The Deccani Sultans are a mystery today. They were indifferent to history and lef a few accounts of their lives. From the thousands of manuscripts, they had commissioned only about 200 survived. In the middle of the 14th century, some Afgan followers of Muhammad Tughlag revolted and established an independent kingdom in 1347 A.D. under Bahmani dynasty. Later. they subdivided into five Sultanates (i) Bidar, (ii) Berar, (iii) Bijapur. (iv) Ahmadnagar and (v) Golkonda. Their rulers were great patrons of art. In 1565, they unitedly vanquished the great Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagar in the battle of Talikota. In many of the five Kingdoms like Bijapur, Ali Adil Shah 1 of Bijapur (1558-80) got the manuscript ‘Nazum-ul-ulm’ | (science of the stars) illustrated. These manuscript paintings are considered as yardstick of ancient Indo-Persian Paintings and refined Deccani style of painting. There are 876 paintings of which 140 are ornamental design and the rest are of birds, animals and human figures. The illustrations show marked influence of the mural paintings at Hampi and Lepakshi at Vijaynagar, but the architectural details belong to Deccan at that period. The Bijapur court encouraged Indian music under the patronage of Adil Shah | and Ibrahim Adil Shah II produced the earliest series of Ragmala paintings, Noted amon such paintings are Gouri Ragini, Raga Hindola and Sri Raga. They show a remarkable expressive style. IMlustrations of Ragmala painting are found scattered j in the Decea states of Bijapur, Abmadnagar and Golkonda. ini i ia a tel| These paintings show sturdy Bi etitive patterns and female f packground has stylised plants colours are very typi zrowing trees as circular masses filled with leaves. Sures with elongated sharp features. The natural and architecture with symmetrical domes. The blue an. The colours in the Ragmala paintings are dark with ns produce a fine artistic magnificence. The “gypical Persian blue and orange. The des golden horizon seems jutting out. . It is generally accepted that the earli epic Tarif-i-Husayn Shahi'whichis est manuscript painting is in the Persian style z Apoctiestyle accountofthe Ahmadnagarruler Husayn NizamShahl (15 -65)andw commissionedby hismotherorwidow whoservedasregent (1565-69). This combined Persian elements and Indian figures, specially women in their indigenous costumes, The Dohad scenes exemplifies this well drawn Indian women wearing colourful s against Persianised trees and renders an old Indian scene of a “beautiful lady kicking or touching a tree to make it blossom (the Ashoka tree). In portrait painting, the Ahmadnagar artists were greatly influenced by Mughal examples and imitated European naturalism and succeeded in producing a three- dimensional effect. rees ‘The painting in the ‘Tarif-i-Husayn Shahi? compliments the text and flatters the feminine patron. The work is bold, which is different from any Indian creation of the earlier period. The elongated faces, oversize jewellery, tall and slender figures are Deccani inventions and are possibly influenced by Vijaynagar murals at Hampi and Lepakshi (The elongated faces and figures are also dominant features of Vijaynagar style at wall paintings in Hindu temples at Lepakshi, South of Ahmednagar painted around 1540). Painting styles which originated in the Deccani Sultanates are marked by a refined elegance with sensitive use of colour and beautiful decorative details. Apart from the elements which appear to be of Hindu origin, Iranian, Turkish and even European influence of roundness and depth are found. European influence seems to have arrived directly through a flourishing sea trade. The Deccani works perhaps never reached the technical excellence of the Mughal, but they have an easy going richness with elaborate detail and wonderfully thought out compositions. Deccani painters leaned more towards idealised imaginary rather than Mughal realism. This suggests that Hindu painters displaced from Vijaynagar after its fall in 1558, found employment in Ahmadnagar court. The kingdom of Golkonda started flourishing after the fall of Vijaynagar in 15 Painters and other craftsmen started coming to Golkonda from Vijaynagar. In 1605, the Dutch and the English first came to Golkonda through Muslipatnam port. a period shows a golden back-ground which period. The mountains are painted in pinkin Persian style, Jahangir’s reig were possibly influei lady, women asc dupatta, costly jewellery make the portrait of the beaut! In the paintings, during the time of Muhammad Q' rulers and aristocrats are in profile with a single eye an are painted with one and three quarter eyes. These pai by Mughal style. The male figures are rather tall and th Golkonda dresses. Golkonda painting continued till 1687, when i Hyderabad painting received royal patronage of its ru but flowering shrubs in the foreground are : é groun i evie, paint n. The trees on cither sides of the figures are IN the Chinese nel i nced by Chinese painted pottery. The darkish comp ¢ like hair, bright red blouse, violet py™ ful lady- utab Shah, the figures = (churidar), g0lde, realistic in Mughal style d those of the inferior clay intings were greatly influence; ¢ aristocrats are found to wee it was conquered by Aurangzeb. Jer Asafjah. Along with Mughal style, local style of social and political life got fused. a The development of Deccani style of painting is mainly Bijapur, Ahmednagar and Golkonda. This style spread to Hyd through the patronage of lerabad, Pune, Kamal ani Sholapur (Gulbarga). Features of Deccan School of Miniature Painting Nv w 6. . Deccani painters show a remarkable expressive style of Ragmala paintings . The painting styles which originated in Deccani Sultanates are marked byz refined elegance of Mughal and Persian influences. Deccani paintings show sturdy growing trees as circular masses filled wit leaves in repetitive design, birds and animals show marked influence of the mural paintings at Vijaynagar. The colours in the Ragmala paintings are mostly dark with typical Persian blue and orange to produce a fine artistic excellence. _ In human figures, they combined Persian elements and Indian figures specially women in their indigenous costumes, elongated faces, sham? features, wide open eyes, broad foreheads, high necks, oversize jewellery tall and slender figures are Deccani inventions. . In portrait painting, the Deccani artists were greatly influenced by Mugh! realism and imitated European naturalism and succeeded in producing: three-dimensional effect. sg Deccani painters leaned more towards idealised imaginary rather ths! Mughal examples, richness with claborate detail and wonderfully though out compositions. _ ‘The colours used in the paintings are rich and brilliant, and golden colet is used profusely for flowering plants, costumes, jewellery and jutting o! horizon.olo’ Chand Bibi is playing polo win, In the painting ‘Chand Bibi and Bibi Playing P three other maids. All the four are sitting on horse back. All the four horses arg drawn in four different colours, i.c., red, yellow, white and blue. There is another figure on the ground, who is perhaps directing the game. Two players are trying to po Il with their polo sticks. All the figures are centrally located. Hoof of the horses are uplifted, Horses are properly decorated, they are shown in ful, dynamic movement. They are shown as stout and sturdy. The heads of all the five female figures are covered with headgears. The polo ground is uneven, painted in green colour and reflect vivid influence of the Persian style. The costumes of the horse riders are richly decorated in bright colours in the Mughal style. They are wearing multicoloured Ghaghra and Choli. Rider on the white horse has bent on horse’s back to possess the polo ball. In the foreground, a pond with flowers and six water-birds in semicircle formation has been painted. The flowers are of red, blue and white colours. In the background, the sky has been painted in deep blue with a moon. There is a fort near the horizon with trees in dark colour here and there. Ragini Pathamsika According to some art critics, Ragini Pathamsika, Dhanasri Ragini and Kamghodi Ragini form ina stylistic group, which have usually been assigned to Ahmadnagar- Bijapur style. One such masterpiece is the Ragini Pathamsika painting which demonstrates the fusion of Indian motifs with Persian techniques, was based on intonation of Indian classical music. Ter In this painting a lady is sitting on a seat in the middle of the pavilion, playing the veena. Two female attendants are standing on both of her sides, one of them i singing and other attendant is fanning to her accompany. All the three are shown in elegant and bright coloured dresses and pearl jewellery. Dresses are of bright red. white and yellow colours. The lady's long transparent yeil has reached the floor The floor has red carpet appearance beautifully contrasted against the green-yellow floral design in the background. All the figures are elongated, faces are moon-shaped with thick eyebrows Colour more thinly applied, tends toward shades of blue, green, red, vermillion and golden-yellow produce an ethereal magnificence. An interesting feature of this painting is architectural settings with repeated domes. In front part of the pavilion there are beautiful multicoloured geometrical and a red coloured domi In hind part of the pavilion there are two beautitel between them is a blue dome, On the extreme lett and in the right side k domes with painted golden motifs, 8 shap! domes and in there are two blac!At the top of the painting there are Sanskrit inscriptions describing a lovely Jady relaxing. In the foreground there is a golden water pot and a black toy elephant. The toy clephant suggests inebriation and frenzy of love, which dominate the central figure in the painting. Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusro js miniature has been painted with the preference of romantic fervour during the mid of 18th century. Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was one of the renowned and most influential Sufi Saints of India. He preached the people that love and peace can bring anyone closer to God. Through community service, kindness and secularity one can get God's blessing. His disciple Amir Khusro was the first to express his patriotism towards Indian soil. In this painting, Nizamuddin Auliya has been shown in green colour clothes, wearing a headgear, sitting engrossed in deep revelry. His disciple Amir Khusro, a contemporary music maestro is sitting close by playing a musical instrument. He is wearing brown angrakha, turban and red waist-band in uniform and black beard suggests his early younghood. Nizamuddin's facial expression, posture of the body, white beard, serene looks reveal his spiritual attainment and wisdom. A yellow coloured sunny halo behind his head glorify him and create a sense of spirituality and intellectual depth. A calm and peaceful milieu is created by the artist with garden, a single ted-yellow coloured fruits and flowering plants and wide and vast blue sky in the background. The golden-yellow and pink courtyard and flowerbeds surround both foreground and background; a red coloured lattice enhance the beauty of the painting. UIE 1. Which is the sub-school of Deccan School of Miniature Painting: ()) Basohii (ii) Kishangarh (ii) Hyderabad (iv) Mewar 2. Which painting illustrated Is based on Indian classical music? (i) Chand Bibi Playing Polo (i) Ragini Pathamsika (ii) Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusro (iv) Krishna with Gopis 3. How many human figures are shown in the Painting ‘Ragini Pathamslka’: () Three (ii) Four (ili) Five (iv) Two. 4. Sn which medium the Deccan miniature paintings are made: () Oil Paste (ii) Gouache (iii) Acrylic Colour Wy) Water S. How teny horses have been shown In the painting ‘Chand Bibi Playing Polo"? 4) five (i), Four (iii) Three (iv) Six