The Mughal School of Painting is characterized
with Indo Persian style. Mughal Emperors Akbar
and Jahangir were great patrons of paintings and
possessed innate sense to distinguish works of
art. Akbar considered artists as equivalent to
God as according to him they executed pictures,
which resembled the exact image of the human beings
who were a creation of God.
The episode between Jahangir and the English
Ambassador Sir Thomas Roe provides an insight
to the artistic merit of the Indian painters.
Jahangir asked Roe to identify an original European
painting placed alongside five copies of it made
by the Indian painters. The brilliance and similarity
of the paintings completely foxed the English
Ambassador.
The Miniatures and Illustrated manuscripts mirror
the cultural legacy and spirit of the Mughal art.
Several Illustrated Manuscripts like Dastan-I-Amir
Hamza, Tutinama, Anvar-I-Suhaili, Ramza-Nama,
Babur-Nama, Akbarnama, and Tuzuk- I-Jahangiri
executed during the Mughal Period are notable
for their vivid pictorial documentation.
Black Buck with Does, Mughal,
Akbar Period, dated 1598 A.D. |
Dastan-I Amir Hamza
Dastan-I Amir Hamza traces the romantic and fabulous
adventures of Amir Hamza who was an Uncle of the Prophet.
The story is composed in 12-14 volumes of a hundred
folios each. The manuscript has been ascribed between1562
and 1582 A.D. The illustrations were executed under
the supervision of Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyad Ali who
were helped by the Indian artists. |
The earlier pictures of the illustrated manuscript
carry the strong influence of the Persian Safavid tradition
however the later illustrations are indigenous in subject
and treatment. Besides the depiction of blossoming plums,
peaches and amber foliage of Persia, the pervasive influence
of the Indian flora and fauna like the mango, banyan,
and pipal trees and the portrayal of the black bear
found only in Kashmir, pictures of birds, cows and monkey
with Indian treatment are found in the manuscript.
An exposure to the western influences is also visible
in the illustrations. In the illustration ‘Amir
Ayaz witnessing the death of Qamir’ a peacock is
shown, which is a symbol of Resurrection in European
themes.
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