Mughal painting

Safavid styles and regional fusion

Babur, a Central Asian descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, established the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526. He wrote a memoir called Baburnama (“History of Babur”), in which he makes mention of celebrated Persian artists, such as Behzad, though it is likely that his challenges in consolidating his new empire prevented him from commissioning works of art. At any rate, there is no historical evidence that Babur had court artists who received official commissions, nor are there any paintings dated to his time. His son Humayun, the second Mughal emperor, was displaced by the Indo-Afghan general and ruler Sher Shah of Sur after the Battle of Chausa in 1539. Humayun fled India after his defeat and eventually sought refuge at the court of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp in Iran. The Safavid court fostered a distinctive artistic tradition that had developed in Shiraz and was strongly shaped by Behzad. During his exile Humayun came into contact with this tradition, and several Persian artists later accompanied him to India when Humayun regained the throne in 1555, including Mir Sayyid Ali and Khwaja Abdus-Samad.

Abdus-Samad later became tutor to Humayun’s son Akbar, who ascended the throne after the death of Humayun in 1556. Therefore, the early art that Akbar patronized at his court had strong Safavid influences. This imprint is evident in features such as the use of three-quarter figures (figures posed partly to the front and facing to the side) with even lighting and Persian features and landscapes.

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Akbar, possibly as early as 1562, commissioned a series of large miniatures of the Dastan-i Amir Hamza (a Persian translation of the Arabic work Hamzanama). He appointed Abdus-Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali to lead a team of about 100 painters in this undertaking, which took 15 years to complete. The result was a collection of some 1,400 large illustrations measuring 22 by 28 inches (55 by 70.5 cm). The work on the miniatures in this Dastan helped define the early Mughal school of painting.

During Akbar’s reign the Mughal style incorporated elements from the Indian environment and a color scheme that borrowed from local painting styles, especially Rajput styles, though they retained the upright format, general setting, and flat aerial perspective of Persian painting. This was partly due to courtly predilections: Akbar’s fondness for history led him to commission illustrations for manuscripts such as the Akbarnama (“History of Akbar”) and the Persian translation of the Baburnama that he commissioned. The emperor’s interest in religions other than Islam also prompted the fusion of Indian mythological themes with an art style originally Persian in nature, as in the illustrated Persian translation of the Hindu legend Harivamsa (“Genealogy of Hari”).

Many existing literary works were illustrated afresh during the Mughal period, some significant works being the Mughal-era illustrations of Anwar-e Suhayli (a prose adaptation of Kalilah wa Dimnah, a 720 ce Persian translation of the Sanskrit fable collection, the Panchatantra), Razmnama (“Book of War”; Persian translation of the Hindu epic the Mahabharata), and the Divan of Hafez (a collection of poems by the Persian poet). Notable painters included Dasvant, who worked on the Razmnama, and Basavan, who made notable contributions to the Tarikh-i Khandan-i Timuriyya, a history of the lineage of the Mughals from their Turkic ancestor, Timur.

The refinement of Mughal painting

Akbar’s successor, Jahangir (1605–27), had already begun to shape his distinct artistic tastes while he was a prince. During a rebellion against his father, he established a semi-independent court at Allahabad (now Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh). There, he set up a studio with painters such as the celebrated Persian artist Aqa Riza of Herat, promoting a strictly Persianate style of art. On ascending the throne, however, Jahangir negotiated with and modified the style Akbar had developed: Colors became more subdued and harmonious, replacing the earlier bright palette; brushwork grew exceptionally fine; and portraiture attained not only technical refinement but also conveyed a deeper insight into the character of its subjects.

Jahangir had his memoirs, the Jahangirnama (“History of Jahangir”), illustrated with marginal sketches, the subjects ranging from his courtiers to domestic staff at the Mughal court. His leading court artists included Abu al-Hasan, whom he titled Nadir al-Zaman (“Wonder of the Age”); Bishandas, celebrated for his penetrating portraits; and Ustad Mansur, renowned for his extraordinarily precise studies of flora and fauna.

The dominant genres of the period included court scenes, portraits, and natural history studies, in which birds and other animals—including rare specimens—became important subjects. Many paintings were assembled into albums (muraqqas) such as the Muraqqa-i Gulshan.

A significant development at Jahangir’s court was the increasing influence of European techniques, a trend that had begun under Akbar. Through diplomatic exchanges and Jesuit missions, Jahangir acquired European engravings and paintings, which his court artists studied and adapted. This led to new approaches to shading, perspective, and the suggestion of volume through light and shadow. This is evident in some royal portraits. Although their subjects were depicted in a naturalistic style, they were sometimes shown with a halo, a sign of European influence on painting during this time. Other European influences included studies by the artist Abu al-Hasan of sketches by Albrecht Dürer and multiple studies, by various artists, of the Virgin Mary.

The technical mastery artists acquired under Jahangir continued into the early years of his successor, Shah Jahan, whose artists produced significant works such as the illustrations for the Padshahnama (“Chronicle of the King of the World” or “Book of the Emperor”). However, Shah Jahan reserved most of his patronage for architecture, and the paintings of his time, though they retained the technical sophistication of his father’s reign, lost some of the vitality that Jahangir’s artists had brought to it.

Decline

Many of these established trends survived into the early reign of Aurangzeb. However, Aurangzeb was opposed to artistic representation because of his religious beliefs and stopped patronizing the arts. Thereafter, in the reigns of the later Mughals, the best works imitated the style as it had existed during Shah Jahan’s reign but dwindled in innovation and mastery. Genre paintings—realistic depictions of everyday life—became popular and rendered scenes such as musical parties, lovers on a terrace, or ascetics gathered around a fire. Bahadur Shah I (1707–12) and Muhammad Shah (1719–48) briefly reintroduced formal patronage, but Persian conqueror Nadir Shah’s raid of Delhi in 1739 displaced artists. Mughal painting continued to decline, and creative activity ceased during the reign of Shah Alam II (1759–1806).