Indian Art and Architecture

B.A History Hons.

Semester IV

Trace the development of painting

during the Mughal period
Trace the development of painting during the
Mughal period
The Mughal art is a combination of the Indo-Persian style which developed
in India. It was influenced liberally by the existing Indian Rajput School. The
Mughal School was found by Akbar under whom it developed into a class
of its own. It was essentially a product of the Mughal court. In form and
content, it happens to be a departure from collective community tradition
just as the Mauryan art was more than a millennium and a half before.
Though it is not difficult for a discerning pair of eyes, to distinguish
an Akbari from a Jahangiri one or the latter from a Shah Jahan painting,
but the interesting and most significant factor is the strong common
denominator which is constant in form and style from earlier and later ones
as well as from those others of contemporary times which originated
elsewhere than in the Mughal court. Mughal artists due to new and more
sophisticated techniques learned both from Persian and European
traditions. Pigments too contributed significantly to the distinctiveness of a
style, Fri contrast to pre-Mughal paintings, those of the Mughal and Rajput
school reflect an enormous increase in the range of colours.

Portraiture occupied very important position in the Mughal painting. A large

number of portraits of the Mughal emperors and the nobilities were
executed during the Mughal period. Akbar was the first Mughal monarch
who took a deep interest in the promotion of painting and following the
Mongol and Timurid examples, he commissioned the work of illustrating
numerous manuscripts.

The artists of Akbar’s court were drawn from within the country and also
from Iran. The style that developed was the best of the Bihzad School and
pre-Mughal Indian art, amalgamated with European and Chinese
influences. Under him, painting appears to have been confined only to
manuscript illustration. Several artists were employed at the court to paint
the great treasure of Mughal miniature; Abu'l Fazl has given a brief list
of only 17 artists. Among the artists, Hindus were greater in number.
Although very little is known about individual artists in Mughal India, there
is considerable information about their techniques and methods. Akbar
started a “karkhana” to originate a new style of painting. The main purpose
was to produce illuminated manuscripts which were an elaborate
production, requiring the cooperation of calligraphers, painters,
and preparators for various accessories such as colour grinder, gold
workers, leather workers, book binders and many more. The books to be
copied were often long and only by the strictest cooperation among all
these different craftsmen and artists some of whom were certainly Prima
Donnas could a beautiful work be produced in time.
Akbar was very fond of the stories of Amir Hamza, an uncle of the prophet.
The illustration of these stories, the Hamza-Nama was the first work
entrusted to the Persian master Mir Saiyyid Alt called for 1400 pictures in
volumes and the task was completed in 15 years. The pictures are in the
Persian Safavid style. However in the later works like in the illustrations of
the Razm-Nama, Khamsa of Nizami etc, Indian tones can be clearly seen.
Much of the paintings of the Akbari period show a restless energy.
The painters reflected the exuberance of their patron, figures are shown in
hurried movement and the compositions are crowded. As painting
developed, the Mughal atelier lost its purely Persian characteristics and
became increasingly Indian by the middle of Akbar's reign. By the middle
of Akbars reign, the skies lost their gold and lapis Lazuli tones to break out
into brilliant sunset colours. Early Mughal art is purely masculine. From this
it can be presumed that scenes of pleasure and dalliance with the ladies,
which abound in later Mughal painting were also imaginary, the
women portrayed being not the princesses themselves but the lesser
attendants who worked freely in and out of the palaces and whose looks
were no mystery to anyone. The art of painting in its general finish and
boldness of execution reached perfection during Akbar's reign. Mir Saiyyid
Ali of Tabriz, Khwaja Abdus Samad, Daswanth and Basawan were the
most renowned artists. Besides these four masters, there were thirteen
other first rate painters at Akbar's court, mostly Hindus.

In Mughal court painting, what is more interesting and perhaps more

important that a strong common denominator remains throughut to
distinguish the form and style from earlier and later ones. The Mughal court
presents the articulation of artistic activities in the field of painting, of a
unified and integrated form and style with a sense of purpose and direction.
This implication is by and large upheld by an analysis of the
paintings themselves, despite relative variations the style and emphasis on
themes conditioned by the tastes and predilections of individual monarchs
from Akbar to Aurangzeb.

By and large, the narrative-descriptive, dramatic and true to appearance

aim and purpose remain constant throughout, so do the respective
compositional schemes also maintain throughout a common denominator
as does the character of a design and draughtsmanship. It's therefore, not
very difficult to say for one who is not an expert, to be able to look at a
given painting and say that it does or does not belong to the form and style
of the Mughal court. The stamp of the form and style and the
general character of the exercise is too dear and distinct to be missed. The
Mughal artist ingeniously combined the ancient Ajanta technique of
perspective v\nth that of contemporary western artists. In the multiple
perspectives used on ancient Buddhist frescoes painters tried to suggest
space by depicting figures simultaneously at eye level and from above, the
direct view and the hierarchical perspective, placing figures in their order
of importance and giving a kind of bird's eye view of the scene. By means
of walls, rocks, cliffs and buildings certain figures were brought into the
foreground and other set
in the distance. This form, combined with the European use of receding
background, helped to give Mughal miniatures their perspective. The
drawing of cliffs, buildings and trees was replaced in the seventeenth
century by grouping of minor characters arranged in semicircular form,
leaving a distinct space for the main figure. In the Ajanta tradition, a thin
line of shading encloses the outline of the figures. This becomes
thicker and much prominent as a result of European influence, since colour
contrast was frequently used to tend relief, especially in the drawing of the
head, which is pushed into prominence by the darker background. The
Mughal miniatures make use of the same device. All the personages in the
picture are connected by gesture, facial expression and proper positioning,
and a harmonious balance is maintained in the composition. The striving
for harmony resulted in the depiction of individual part of the body
from different angles, with the legs and body in profile and the face in semi
profile and sometimes in reverse profile. The features of the face were also
often portrayed from different angles. During Jahangir times the European
influence could be seen increasingly in the paintings. The colours were
more muted and blended well together. This nationalistic influence can be
best seen in the representation of landscapes.

Portraiture reached great heights during Jahangir's reign. The portraits

were painted with great care of details and finesse of drawing and
modeling. The important manuscript illustrated during this period are the
"Ayar-iDanish" an animal fable book and the "Anwar-i-Suhaili”. Babur was
the first Mughal emperor who came to India. But it is likely that there were
some painters in his entourage; for he had a love of nature and it depiction.
Babur became emperor in 1526 and ruled for four years. His son,
Humayun, was ousted from the throne and spent fifteen year in exile. One
of these years, 1544, the most memorable in terms of Indian painting, was
spent at the court of Shah Tahmasp of Persia. The love of the arts was in

Humayun's blood and he was quite dazzled by the artistic output of the
Persian court. He met two distinguished pupil of Bihzad, Khwaja Abdus
Samad and Mir Saiyyid Ali, and invited them to India when he regained his
throne for only seven months in 1555. It was from these artists that
Humayun and his son, Akbar, took lessons in drawing. An atelier was set
up in the palace and the serious work of painting began. The Persian artists
were the guiding spirit of the Dastan-i-Amir Hamza, the first of the great
series of paintings which gave the Mughal School its name and
reputation.

The foundations of Mughal painting are not very clear in the present state
of our knowledge. Though Babur was a learned and cultured man, whose
appreciation of the art of painting was based on a fine and sophisticated
taste and sound knowledge, so far there is no evidence of his founding an
atelier of artists.

Humayun (1530-1556) was the first documental patron of Mughal

painting, Humayun was a puzzling and intriguing figure. An inheritor
rather a founder, albiet of a flimsy
empire he was less charismatic than his father, more formal and reserved,
gentle, and more concerned with protocol. But he was also a gifted general
an occasion, as when he defeated Bahadur Shah in Gujarat in 1535.
Humayun's visit to the Safavi court in 1544 was crucial to art history as it
was to the Mughal Empire. While there he admired the brilliant painting by
Shah Tahmasp's artists. By luck. Shah Tahmasp's inspiring patronage of
painting was then replaced by more responsible interests and in
1546. Humayun was able to call two safavi artists to accompany him to
India. These were Mir Saiyyid Ali and Abdus Samad, both of whom left
Tabriz along with a book binder and a mathematician in the summer of
1548. They first went to Qandahar, where they waited for a year till
Humayun battled with Kamsan, until a lull in war enabled Humayun to
have them escorted to Kabul. They arrived there in November 1549 were
busy until the March to Hindus five year after in November 1554.

Humayun's choice of Abdus Samad and especially Mir Saiyyid Ali was
consistent with the tendencies to naturalism already apparent in Babur's
prose. Of all of Shah Tahmasp's artists, Mir Saiyyid Ali was the sharpest
and most accurate observer, sparing no pains to record the precise shape
and texture of fur or metal or odd bumps of a nose. He was also a brilliant
designer of arabesque, who shared his father genius for abstracting figure
into slanting ornamental patterns. Unfortunately, the Mir artistic expertise
was accompanied by a moody and suspicious temperament. Less
talented, but more flexible and adjusting was Abdus Samad, whose Mughal
phase was far longer and more productive. Painting done by him during
the Kabul period reveal that he soon began to adapt his safavi style to the
escalating mughal desire for accurate portraiture and anecdotal repertoire.
Although its unsigned, damaged and considerably repainted, the House of
Timur can be recognised as Abdus Samad's work at Kabul or in India.
The painting is grand in scale, "sumptuous" in colour and a complete
reflection of Humayun's royal taste; this picture is in cotton, is the major
monument of early Mughal art. Seemingly, it continued to be highly
respected and appreciated since it was brought up-to-date by the addition
of portraits of three generations of Humayun's heirs. Humayun acquainted
himself with the studio of schools of leading artists which flourished there.
He saw the paintings of the Persian artists, Aga Mirak, Sultan Muhammad
and Muzaffar, pupils of the famous Bihzad. Thus he acquired a taste
for paintings. In this way, he came in contact at Tabriz with Mir Saiyyid Ali,
and Abdus Samad. They were persuaded by Humayun to join his court in
Kabul in 1550 A.D. There he and his son, Akbar, took lessons in drawing
and studied generally the art of painting under the two artists. When
Humayun finally marched into India, after year of exile, he also brought with
him these two distinguished artists. Akbar (1556-1605) although, illiterate,
Akbar loved books, particularly illustrated ones. His vast library
included volumes that would now be catalogued as history, with particular
emphasis on his own dynasty including veterinary, anthropology,
comparative religions, mathematics, engineering, military strategy,
government theology, astronomy and literature. The final
volume of the "Din-i-Akbari"^ contains sections on the arts, writing and
paintings. The Persian artists were the guiding spirit of the "Dastan-i-Amir
Hamza",'' the first of the great series of paintings which gave the Mughal
school its name and reputation. This was produced in the reign of
Humayun's son, Akbar. The majority of painters in the atelier were Indians
who had been trained in the existing school of painting in India. Even
though the masters guided these apprentices to produce works using
purely Persian techniques, their basic Indian training soon asserted itself
and a synthesis of the two styles emerged in their works, producing a
school of painting which has been the subject of unlimited praise by all
critics and connoisseurs. The artists worked together on a sort of assembly
line basis, where each developed his own specialty the first outline sketch,
the filling in of colour, landscape or facial features. When the picture was
finished, the superintendent would write the names of all the painters
responsible in it, so the earliest Mughal paintings were far from being
anonymous.

The Dastan-i-Amir Hamza, a massive work comprising 1,400 paintings,

took fifteen year to complete. It tells of the exploits of the uncle of prophet
Mohammed, Amir Hamza, while spreading the Muslim faith and was
painted in a series of exceptionally large-sized pictures-22 inches by 28-
1/2 inches on cotton cloth. The canvases teem with life, recounting
episodes in which Amir Hamza battles against various enemies and
evil spirits to complete his mission. The Persian flavour is extremely strong
but Indian elements are evident in the shape of faces or the vitality and
majesty of an elephant. Other works that were illustrated in Akbar's reign
included the Khamsa of Nizami, a classic of Persian literature, the romantic
tale of Laila and Majnu, Shahnamah, the great epic of ancient Persian,
"'Razm Namah", the Persian translation of the "Akbar Namah"^ the history
of his own rule. According to Abul Fazl, "the work of all painter, are
weekly laid before his majesty by the "Darogan” and the clerks. He then
confers rewards according to the excellence of workmanship, or he may
increase the monthly salary. He then confers rewards according to the
excellence of workmanship, or he may increase the monthly salary". Much
progress was made in the commodition required by painters, and the
correct prices of such artists were carefully ascertained. The mixing of
colour has specially been improved. The pictures thus received a hitherto
unknown finish excellent painters are now to be found in India, and master
pieces worthy of Bihzad may be placed at the side of the wonderful works
of European painters who have attained worldwide fame. The miniatures
of detail, the general finish and the boldness of execution now observed in
pictures are incomparable; even inanimate objects look as if they have life.
More than a hundred painters have become famous master of the art, while
the number of those who approach perfection is large.

As painting developed in the Mughal ateliers, it lost its purely Persian

characteristics and became increasingly Indian. By the middle of Akbar's
reign, the skies lost their gold and tones break out into brilliant sunset
colour. The stylized quality of Persian painting
is replaced by movement and vigour, and the human figure becomes more
and more Indian in feature and expression. Faces came alive showing that
there was a close study of individual character traits. Miniatures became
records of the emperor's activities. We see Akbar supervising the
submission of a rebel; hunting tigers; receiving the manuscript of the "Ain-
i-Akbari" from Abul Fazl; having a rebel thrown to his death, storming the
forts and so on.

Akbar followed the Timurid tradition in which manuscript illumination

received special attention. But painting at his court was not essentially an
art of book-illustration, portraiture was important too. Akbar himself sat for
his likeness, and ordered portraits to be made of all his nobles, Abul Fazl
writes that an immense album was thus prepared. Akbar's interest in actual
portrait was an innovation.

Without Akbar the Mughal Empire and its art would be known only to
specialists. The empire refounded, he was one of India's wisest and
mightiest rulers, whose energy and inspiration sparked his followers to
peak performances. When Humayun died, Prince Akbar although not yet
fourteen, was already soldiering in the, having been sent to the mountains
with an army to expel the ex-king, Sikander Shah Afghan. Bairam Khan,
one of his father's ablert generals, improvised a throne on which the boy
begain his reign. Later, as regent, Bairam Khan brought stability to the
shaky kingdom and enabled the young ruler to grow with some degree of
tranquility. Physically dynamic and adventurous in spirit, he baulked at
many of the subjects usually taught to the princes, so preferring hunting
and wrestling to reading that he remained illiterate. His son Jahangir
reminisced that "Akbar always associated with the learned of every creed
and religion...and so much became clear to him through constant
intercourse with the learned and wise that no one knew him to be illiterate
and he was so wed acquainted with the niceties of verse and prose
composition that this deficiency was not thought of Jahangir's lively
portraiture was of middle height, but inclined to be tail, he was of the hue
of wheat, his eyes and eye brow were black and his hands and arms long,
on the left side of his nose, he had a falsely mole, very agreeable in
appearance, of the size of half of a pea. Those skilled the science of
physiognomy marked this mole a sign of great prosperity and exceeding
good fortune. His august voice was very loud, and in speaking and
explaining had a particular richness. In his actions and movements he was
not like the people of the world, and the glory of god manifested itself in
him. Notwithstanding his kingship, his treasures and his buried wealth past
computation, his fighting elephants and horses, he never by a hairs
Breadth placed his foot Beyond the Base of humility before the throne of
god, and never for one moment forgot him. He associated with the good of
every race and creed and persuasion, and he was gracious to all in
accordance with their condition and understanding. "His courage and
Boldness were such that he could mount raging, rutting elephants and
subdue to obedience murderous elephants which would not allow there
females near them.
At this time, Akbar took several steps crucial to the success of his empire.
He overcome the clique of haram ladies, prohibited the enslavement of
Hindu prisoners of war, allowed Hindus to occupy important governmental
posts, abolished a tax on pilgrims in 1563, and a year later did away with
the Jizya, a poll tax on non-Muslims. In 1562, he also married a Hindu
princess, the daughter of Raja Bihari Mai of Amber.

With devious practicality, Akbar appointed Rajputs to high positions; and

once they had tasted Mughal power, he controlled them by the carrot and
stick policy. He made it impossible for Mughal noblemen, whether Hindu
or Muslim, to pass on power and wealth. At death, all lands, gold,
elephants, horses etc. reverted to the crown, and only if the emperor
approved were the heirs permitted to inherit any part of their
estates. Rajputs and Muslims, however, were not the only members of
Akbar's circle, no were all his close associates Indian born. Word spread
throughout the Muslim world that Akbar welcomed men of ability-io his
court. Poets, musicians, soldiers, theologians, painters, merchants and
others seeking fortunes were drawn from as far afield as Europe and Africa,
Turkey, Iran and Arabia. The emperor also sought talent at home from
all religious groups and ranks of society. He chose Raja Todar Mal, a Hindu
of the business caste, as his revenue officer. Raja Birbal, a Brahmin,
became one of Akbar's favourite companions, the so-called 'Nauratna".
Known for his wit and poetry, this man of religious background was one of
the first to join Akbar's new sect, the Din-i-Ilahi another part of the imperial
plan for the unification of India's desparate religious groups.

Akbar's projects were always purposeful, however diverse, all contributed

to this grand imperial scheme. The translation into Persian of such Hindu
religious works as the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The most remarkable
artistic project from Akbar's reign is the "Hamza Nama" a series of grand
pictures on cotton describing the fabulous adventures of Amir Hamza, an
uncle of the Prophet. The paintings are perfect visual equivalents of
Akbar's surging spirit during the years when he had taken full control of the
government and was advancing his schemes with godlike energy and
intelligence. A picture such as Mirdukt's Escape fairly bursts from the page.
Water seethes and pounds, men dash and the heroine gestures with
theatrical bravado. Even the rocks are dynamic, recalling Abul Fazl's claim
that "even inanimate objects look like they had life". An important category
of Akbar's paintings are illustrations to delux volumes of the literary
classics, of which an early example is "the ape outsmarts thieves" of 1570.
Such pictures are invariably assigned to the most admired artists, working
unassisted. But while these miniatures can be ranked as the ateliers
master pieces, they are not necessarily the most exciting. Outstanding
artists also worked on less refined projects such as the copiously illustrated
manuscripts that described not only Mughal history but also its percussors
in the Islamic world. Perhaps the earliest surviving manuscript of this sort
is a dispersed "Babur Nama" of about 1589, the year when Khan Khanan,
one of Akbar's most literary nobles, completed the translation ‘Babur
Receiving Uzbek and
Rajput Envoys in a Garden at Agra' contains one of the most believable
portraits of the founding emperor in his favourite garden surroundings,
receiving envoys at Agra in 1528 from the Safavis, Uzbeks and Rajputs.
As usual under such circumstances at the Mughal court, robes of honor,
gold and silver, and richly worked swords and daggers were presented to
the guests.

Jahangir (1605-1627) the son and successor of Akbar showed just as great
interest in the art of painting as his father under him, the painting acquired
greater charm, refinement and dignity. Jahangir organised a staff and
excellent painters and supervised their work. He was a connoisseur and
critic of art and possessed the analytical knowledge of an expert. His power
of observation was so great that he could tell the names of individual artists
by seeings their paintings. Many of Akbar's court painters, such as Abu-i-
Hasan, Bishandas, Farrukh Beg, Daulat, Anand, Manohar and
other continued to work for Jahangir. He was particularly enthusiastic about
Abul Hasan the son of the Persian painter, Aka Riza, of Herat. Abul Hasan
was engaged by Jahangir while still a prince and he was honoured with the
title of "Nadirazamah", because he drew the picture of his accession as the
frontispiece to the Jahangir Nama. In 1617 Jahangir selected Bishandas to
accompany a mission to Persia to paint the portrait of Shah and the chief
men of his state.

Aka Riza or Muhammad Riza painted in the traditional Persian style and
this was practised by several other court painters, such as Farrukh Beg,
the Kalmak. The two new painters from Samarkand, Md. Nadir, Md. Murad,
were excellent portrait painters. However Jahangir knowledge of the
classical aspect of painting and his zeal for the art, combined with the skill
of his court artists, led to the liberation of the Mughal art of painting from
the tune age of Persian influences and to the growth of art style essentially
Indian learning more and more to Hindu traditions. Under the patronage
of Jahangir, the art of portraiture attained great excellence. The portraits
were painted by the court with great case, love of detail and fineness of
drawing and modelling. Like his father, Jahangir. Liked European paintings
with religious subjects. Sir Thomas Roe, the English ambassador, who
spent four years 1615-1619 A.D. at the court, had many interesting
conversations with the emperor far into the night on painting and art
in general. During this period, European influence manifested itself more
and more in painting. The colours were no longer hard and enamel like as
in the previous period but were softer and melted harmoniously together.
The maturalistic influence is best seen in the representation of
landscapes.

The important manuscripts illustrated during this period are: an animal fable
book called "Ayas-i-Danish", the leaves of which are now in the Cowasji
Jahangir collection, Bombay and the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin and
the Anwar-i-Suhaili, another fable book in the British Museum, London,
both executed between 1605-10 A.D. some miniatures in the "Gulistan"
and "Diwan-i-Hafiz" both in the British museum. Natural
scenes especially hunting scenes and portraits were the favourite of
Jahangir's paintings. These were painted with vivid realism. Jahangir was
a great lover of nature and ordered such artists as Mansur and Murad to
paint beautiful specimen of birds, animal and flowers. Painting of plants,
cereepers, flowers, animals, birds and numerous other natural subjects
reached the highest stage of development unusual flowers and rare
animals were ordered to be copied or painted by Jahangir.

Jahangir's deep interest in nature gave rise to the '"zoological portrait^

similarly his love of flowers greatly influenced the use of flower in
decorative art and margin painting which flourished at his atelier as a
separate branch of painting. Indeed the illuminated margin now became an
integral part of painting. Jahangir seems to have preferred paintings
representing contemporary events, experiences, etc. to those illustrating
the classics and fables of India and Persia. These also appear to be shift
in interest from manuscript illumination to portraiture and album painting.
Moreover, the influence of western techniques increased greatly,
especially the use of aerial perspective. Jahangir had portraits made of his
nobles which he gathered together in albums. Jahangir sent an artist to
Iran especially to prepare portraits of Shah 'Abbas and his nobles'. He
had similarly a number of portraits prepared of Uzbek rulers and nobles.
While copies of European paintings and engravings had already been
made under Akbar, the interest in European painting seems to have
increased considerably under Jahangir.

Sir Thomas Roe describes how Jahangir had several good copies made
of a picture he had presented; the ambassador was hard put to distinguish
the original from the copies. The royal patron found in Mansur an artist to
his heart who could faithfully capture for him in line and colour the unusual
flora and fauna which so much delighted him.

Jahangir painters, who accompanied him everywhere, made drawing of

birds and animals which caught the emperor's eye. In his diary he writes,
"although king (Babur described in his memoirs the appearance and shape
of several animals, he moreover ordered the painters to make pictures of
them, y\.s these animals appeared to me very strange, I Both described
them and ordered that painters draw them for the Jahangimamah so that
the amazement arising from hearing about them might he increased".
Mansur was the painter who excelled in animal subjects in Jahangir's
time. The emperor's own knowledge, not only of painting but also of the
technical excellence of his painters, was so great that he could tell who had
done the eyes, the hands, the landscape, and so on. This was a time of
specialization, and as Mansur was the specialist for birds and animals and
Farrukh Beg for traditional Persian motifs, so others also had their
specialities.

In this reign the multiple signatures of the early reign disappeared and the
miniature carried only one signature. In Jahangir's time, miniatures came
to be made for preservation in folios rather than merely as book
illustrations. Portraits became
increasingly popular and Jahangir presented his portrait to all those he
wished to honor. He also started the practice of having his courtiers wear
miniatures of himself on a brooch that was attached to the front of the
turban, a practice Shah Jahan followed. These are visible in some of the
durbar scenes. Equestrian portraits, a purely Indian innovation since they
are not found in Persian painting, were painted in great numbers. The great
love of the Mughal for creating gardens gave the painter a chance to
study and paint various species of flowers. To these paintings he brings
botanical expertise as well as an elevating sense of colour jaid rhythm.
These flower studies were made in large numbers during the reigns of
Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan's reign (1628-1658) was marked by a dazzling magnificence.

The empire was now firmly established and the resources of the whole
country were at the disposal of the "Great Mughal” who could indulge in his
love of opulent display to his heart's content. The artists worked in the
tradition of the earlier reign, but their work is distinguished by far greater
use of gold and colour. The miniatures, showing slightly over elaborate
court scenes, are a reflection of the tastes of the builder of the Taj Mahal,
'"the poem in marble”.

Together with the lavishness of the court is the ever present mystic element.
The stark realism of the earlier reign is replaced by scenes of holy men and
portraits that reveal psychological insight, and the profile replaced the
.earlier three quarters face. Even the durbar scenes show, with very few
exceptions, rows, of faces in profile. Shah Jahan's own love was
architecture, and the beautiful building of his time is an index of his
taste. Perhaps because his taste extended to the elaborate, the fabulous
stone-encrusted peacock throne, on which the emperor sat, became
legend in his time, but the emperor did not seem to have taken any
particular interest in painting. There is no record of the frank delight in art
that his father found. It was inevitable, therefore, that from this time Mughal
painting should show a definite decline. The delineation of detail, the
fine brushwork and careful drawing are still present, but an element of
stiffness and formalism forms a marked contrast to the fluid quality of the
earlier miniatures.

Most of the works produced at Shahjahan's atelier (1628-1658) consist of

album pictures. The format of Jahangiri paintings, portraiture and margin
painting, still remained in vogue, but there was markedly less innovation.
The miniatures of Shahjahan's reign are characterized by replendent
costumes, arms, and armour, ornamented columns, the abundant use of
gold pigments and bright colours, contrasting strongly with the naturalism
of Jahangiri paintings. The album of Shahjahan's eldest son Dara Shukoh,
has survived. The miniature representing ascetics and saints, both Muslim
and Hindu, reflect his catholic ideas; there are detailed studies too of
birds animal and flowers but there was markedly less innovation. Miniature
of Shah Jahan reign are characterized by resplendent costumes, arms and
armors, ornamented columns, abundant use of gold pigment and bright
colour, contrasting strongly with the
naturalism of Jahangir's paintings. Flower studies were also done in large
numbers. Shah Jahan's first love was architecture and the beautiful
buildings of his time are an index of his taste. Perhaps because of his taste
extended to the opulent, the fabulous stone-encrusted peacock throne on
which the emperor sat, became legend in his time, but the emperor did not
appear to have taken any special interest in paintings. There is no record
of the frank delight in art that his father found. It was inevitable, therefore
that from the age onward, Mughal painting should show definite decline.
The delineation of details, the fine brush work and carefully drawing are
still present, but an element of stiffness and formalities is a marked contrast
to the fluidity of the earlier miniatures.

Aurangzeb (1658-1707), Shah Jahan's youngest son and the next emperor
was a puritan who had very little interest in the art. His philosophy of life
did not tolerate frivolity or pleasures of any kind. He appointed a
"muhtaseb". He prohibited music and sternly discouraged styles of dress
which he considered effimeniate. The splendour and luxuries of Shah
Jahan's court were abolished and the palace was stripped of its luxurious
trappings. Painting too suffered serverly he regarded its patterns oppose
to sacred Islamic tenets. His portrait is painted in battles and seiges; he is
shown almost as an old man. While the emperor laid an austere life in
which even simple pleasure seem to have no part, his courtier indulged in
all types of extravagances. This is reflected in the paintings of these
periods which is replete with music, drinking and love scenes and through
scenes are rather contrived and the figures rigid, they continued to be
painted during the succeeding reign also. Technique becames the looser
figures more rigid, lines less restrained and colour more garish as the
Mughal Empire headed towards decay.

Although Aurangzeb's portrait with his son and Shaisteh Khan and a
hunting scene are among the finest Mughal paintings of their genres and
suggest that he had a true feeling for the art, by 1668, when he
promulgated restrictive religious ordinances, he virtually closed the royal
atelier As the empire declined the artist too travelled to other areas
and sought patronage at other court. Earlier the courts that had alliances
with the Mughals either had some Mughal artists working for them or had
sent some of their own artists to be trained at the imperial atelier The less
talented artists set up stalls at bazaars and made paintings that had no
links with the work ordered by the imperial patrons, often showing a
remarkal primitive quality. The outstanding 17th century Mughal artists
were Chitarman, Mohammad Nadir of Smarkhand, Mir Mohammad Hasim,
Goverdhan, Bhagwati, Mansur, Manohar, Farrukh Beg and Hassan.

All facts and situations in our knowledge so far have established beyond
doubt that Mughal paintings were surely a mughal court product, organized
and developed from the beginning to the end by the emperor themselves.
The imperial mughal court presents the eloquent articulation of artistics
activities in painting of an integrated form and style with a true sense of
purpose and direction. The implication has been given credibility by an
analysis of the paintings themselves, despite relative variations in styles
and emphasis on the topics conditioned by the preferences and
predilections of individual kings from Akbar to Aurangzeb. The
colour schemes are also maintained with a common denominator as were
the draughtmanship and character of design. It is therefore relatively easy
for even a layman to be able to view a painting to judge whether its origins
lie in the imperial Mughal atelier or not.
Aurangzeb's indifference to painting might have been partly responsible for
the decline that followed Shah Jahan. Nevertheless, the tradition did not
come to an end; and the Mughal style largely influenced. Later school of
painting such as those of Awadh Lahore, Delhi, and Patna, it also
influenced the hill schools and centres of painting in south India.