It was during the reign of Mughal Emperor Humayun that India saw a new addition to its heritage of miniature art. When the Emperor Humayun was in Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp I, he got introduced to Persian paintings. On his return to India, he began patronizing the Persian paintings with the help of two proficient artists Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad. Their discrete style along with the integration of the local fashion of painting gave rise to distinct style of art, which became renowned as Mughal painting. During the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan the Mughal painting refurbished and blossomed further.
Emperor Aurangzeb did not actively patronize the Mughal paintings but some of the renowned paintings were seen during his reign. Again during the rule of Muhammad Shah (1719-48), the Mughal paintings saw a short upsurge but slowly the art had began to downfall. An endowed artist of the Delhi-based court of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, Nidha Mal kept alive the saga Mughal art by painting in illustrious Delhi style after moving to Lucknow.Abu`l-Hasan, Bishan Das, Govardhan and Daulat are some of the celebrated artists of the Mughal period.
The Mughal paintings depicted events from the various aspects of the erstwhile Mughal Empire. These paintings portrayed the scenes from the battlefields, hunting sports, the wild life and animals and also the court scenes. One of the Mughal paintings illustrate a prince and his companions smoking a `huqqa`, in the presence of beautiful ladies in the lovely environs of a walled fort gardens. The hunting scene in the Mughal paintings corresponded to a classic genre that depicted royal hunts and the general portray of the royal life.
When Emperor Akbar was in power, the political, economic and cultural landscape had began changing. The Mughal paintings encouraged innumerable painters who further brought more rudiments of precision and practicality into these paintings. These renewed paintings also depicted the events from the epics of Mahabharat and the Ramayana. The animal fables, which are famous in India by the name Panchatantra, were also depicted in Mughal paintings. The portfolio of Mughal paintings is large and diverse involving the comprehensive countryside backgrounds and rudiments of individual portraiture.
The artistic scenario excelled during sovereignty of Jahangir (1605-27). The paintings emerging during his reign illustrated scenes and events from his life. A biographical portrayal of Jahangir known as the `Jahangirnama`, which was written during his lifetime has numerous pictorial idiosyncrasies paintings. The colors used in these paintings were lighter and the brush strokes were more intricate. Human figures, flowers, animals and birds formed the various themes on which the Mughal paintings emerged during Jahangir reign.
Musical events, lovers and ascetics formed the main themes of the Mughal paintings during the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-58). Shah Jahan is most distinguished for his architectural feat, the Taj Mahal that took 16 years for its completion.
Mughal Painting that emerged during the reign of Mughal Empire around16-19th centuries was limited to the images on the books and albums filled with paintings, calligraphic prints and ornamental borders. These splendid albums full of Mughal paintings were enveloped in leather, which was gilded, embossed and painted. In the initial phases the technique often involved a team of artists, one determined the composition a second did the actual coloring and a specialist in portraiture worked on individual faces. Probably the earliest example of Mughal painting is the illustrated folktale Tuti-nameh.
The value of these paintings and the painters are diminishing. Commercial art and artists have set a new trend in the world of Indian painting that essence of our heritage seems lost.
