Origin of the Mughal school
The Mughal emperors loved books and pictures. Babur (ruled 1526โ1530) wrote his memoir, the Baburnama. Humayun, while in Persia (Iran), met the painters Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad and brought them to India. They trained Indian artists.
The Mughal style is a mix:
- From Persia: fine lines, rich decoration, high viewpoint, beautiful handwriting (calligraphy) on the page.
- From India: bright colours, lively people, local plants, animals and dress.
- From Europe (through prints brought by travellers and missionaries): shading for roundness and near-big, far-small depth.
Akbar's period (1556โ1605): the great workshop
Akbar set up a royal workshop (kitabkhana) with more than a hundred artists, many of them Hindu artists from Gujarat, Gwalior and elsewhere. He looked at their work every week and rewarded the best.
- Team work: one artist drew the design, another filled colour, and a master painted the faces. Names of artists were often written in the margin.
- Big projects: the Hamzanama (about 1,400 large paintings on cloth, of the adventures of Amir Hamza), the Razmnama (Persian Mahabharata), the Akbarnama (history of Akbar's reign) and the Baburnama.
- Style: crowded, energetic action, dramatic movement, many people and animals.
- Artists: Daswanth, Basawan, Miskin, Lal, Kesu Das, Jagannath.
- Works studied: Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan by Miskin; Babur Crossing the River Son by Jagannath.
Jahangir (1605โ1627) and Shah Jahan (1628โ1658)
Jahangir: nature and portraits
Jahangir was a keen observer of nature. He preferred single paintings for albums (muraqqa) over long books, and fewer, finer artists.
- Ustad Mansur (title Nadir-ul-Asr, "wonder of the age"): birds, animals and flowers drawn with scientific accuracy, such as Falcon on a Bird-Rest, a zebra and a Siberian crane.
- Abul Hasan (Nadir-uz-Zaman): portraits and allegories, such as Jahangir Holding the Picture of the Madonna.
- Bishandas: famous for true-likeness portraits.
- Emperors are shown with a golden halo behind the head.
Shah Jahan: grandeur and formality
- Still, formal court scenes and portraits; lots of gold, jewels and costly blue.
- Richly painted borders (hashiya) with flowers and gold.
- Faquirullah Khan: Kabir and Raidas, two saint-poets at work. Haji Madni: Marriage Procession of Dara Shikoh. Bichitr painted fine royal portraits.
Decline and spread
Aurangzeb (1658โ1707) gave little support. Artists moved to Rajput, Pahari and Deccan courts, carrying Mughal skills with them. Later Mughal art also fed into Company painting for Europeans.
Main features of Mughal painting
- Realism: true-to-life faces, exact birds, animals and plants.
- Secular themes: history, court life, hunts, portraits, nature, as well as stories.
- Depth and shading: near-big, far-small, soft modelling; faces often in three-quarter view.
- Fine detail: very thin lines, patterned carpets and clothes, gold.
- Decorated margins and calligraphy around the picture.
- Team workshops under royal control.
Try it
Draw the same cup three times on a line: near (big, at the bottom), middle and far (small, higher up). Shade one side darker. You have used two Mughal tricks for depth.
Key formulas and definitions
- Key terms: kitabkhana = royal book workshop; muraqqa = album
- Hashiya = decorated border; halo = golden ring behind the ruler's head
- Akbar = action and team books; Jahangir = nature and portraits; Shah Jahan = formal grandeur
- Mughal = Persian + Indian + some European (shading, depth)
Worked examples
1. A painting shows a very exact falcon on a perch with every feather drawn. Which reign and artist?
Jahangir's reign, by Ustad Mansur (Falcon on a Bird-Rest).
2. Why do many Akbar-period paintings have two or three artist names?
Akbar's workshop worked in teams: one artist designed, another coloured, and a master did faces, so all were credited.
3. How did Mughal style reach Rajasthan and the hills?
When Aurangzeb cut support, Mughal-trained artists moved to Rajput and Pahari courts and taught their methods there.
Common mistakes
- Thinking Mughal painting is purely Persian. It is a mix of Persian, Indian and some European ideas.
- Mixing up the reigns: action-filled books are Akbar's; nature studies and true portraits are Jahangir's.
- Saying Mansur painted portraits of kings mainly. He is famous for birds, animals and flowers.
- Thinking Mughal paintings were huge wall pictures. Except the cloth Hamzanama, they are book and album pages.