Unit 4 Art and Architecture

Mughal Paintings: Jahangir and Shah Jahan

Structure

1.1 Objectives

1.2 Introduction

1.3 Origin of Paintings

1.3.1 Babur

1.3.2 Humayun

1.3.3 Akbar

1.4 Jahangir

1.4.1 Process of making

1.4.2 Themes

1.4.3 Foreign influences

1.5 Shah Jahan

1.6 Paintings as source of power

1.7 Conclusion

1.8 Summary

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1.9 Questions

1.10 Answers

1.11 Suggested Readings

1.1 Objectives

In this chapter you will know about another form of art that reached its height

during 17th century Mughal India. It was the miniature paintings, an art form

that helped the rulers to express themselves. Moreover, the paintings had certain

symbolism within them as an indicator of the imperial ideologies.

1.2 Introduction

How does one convey its emotions? Generally, thoughts are conveyed through

written words in varied forms from letters, diaries, autobiographies, poems etc.

when writing was not used, thoughts are expressed through the medium signs

and expressions.

There are other ways as well to convey your ideas and interests to others. It is

through the medium of visual forms, like paintings. Visual art constitutes very

important element of any time period. Paintings is one of the most widely used

and popular form to convey thoughts, emotions and other interesting things.

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As Mughals were excellent in the field of architecture, equally they exceled in

the field of paintings as well. During the Mughal rule a new style of painting

emerged- miniature painting.

This chapter will introduce you to the concept of Mughal paintings. It will

highlight how the art of painting developed in the Mughal India; What were the

sources of influence of these miniature paintings? The chapter will discuss the

process involved in the production of these paintings. Moreover, the important

artists of the time who contributed in this art from would be highlighted. Other

aspects would be on the themes upon which these paintings were made and use

of symbolisms in the miniature paintings under the Mughals. Lastly, how these

paintings also helped political control?

In the end of the chapter a brief reading list provided for further knowledge.

1.3 Origin of Paintings

The Mughals had their roots in Central Asia, in a small village of Ferghana. The

region was home to Babur and was his father’s seat of power. The Mughals

derive their descendant from two different houses-the house of Timur and the

house of Mongol. Due to their two different descendants, we see in their system

some foreign elements. I due course of time the Mughals were indigenised as

many Indian elements were visible in their system.

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It was true for the art of painting during the Mughal empire as well. Timur was

controlling the regions of Samarqand and Herat. Under his patronage painting

developed. His association with north India dates back to 1398 when he

attacked Delhi and his army conducted loot and plunder. After Timur, Safavids

too over and the region of Tabriz grew into the central of art.

1.3.1 Babur

Babur, the first Mughal ruler was very good observer and he appreciated his

natural surroundings. In his memoir, Baburnama, he writes about Hindustan in

details, describing its natural beauty, varieties of plants and animals found, its

seasons and other intricate details. He visited Herat where he saw works of

Bhizad. He was called ‘Raphael of the East’ i. We see under him the first

encounter of the Persia art which brought some impact upon the mind of the

Babur. He took interest in his surroundings which further helped him appreciate

paintings.

1.3.2 Humayun

His son Humayun, had difficult time in Hindustan. He was expelled by Sher

Shah Sur and took refuge in Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp court.

This was his first encounter with the illustrated manuscripts. In Tabriz he met

two most prominent artists of the time-Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd-al Samad. When

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he was at Kabul, he invited Mir Musavvir to become chief of the book

illustrator.ii Later Mir Sayyid Ali and Samad were also invited to Kabul.

According to Percy Brown, the term, Indo-Persian or Indo-Timurid was

regarded by some authorities as more appropriate name for the Indian painting. iii

The paintings that developed in India subcontinent during the Mughals had

elements of indigenous and Timurid tradition. Humayun’s sudden death in 1556

brought a change of emperor, his son Akbar became the next ruler.

1.3.3 Akbar

Akbar, known as the ‘Great’ for his nature of rule and the changes he brought in

the regions under his control. He was also known for the laying foundation of a

strong administrative and revenue system which helped to sustain his power.

Under his rule Mughals were also indigenised as we see many natives becoming

part of Mughal court. The Akbar and Rajput relations became more intimate as

many of them were given high mansab and had marital alliances. Many

brahmins were also recruited in the court. However, Akbar’s contribution was

not limited to the politics, under him art of painting reached at higher level.

Percy Brown argues that in the kind of time Akbar came to power was peaceful

and favourable for artistic revival.iv In days of his father exile, Akbar was taught

by Samad in Tabriz which helped to develop interest in paintings. At his capital

Fatehpur Sikri he established a royal manuscript atelier which had thirty

painters and seventy assistants.v Its first production was Hamzanam. Other

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productions during Akbar’s reign were Razmnam, illustration of Persian

literature like Nizami’s Khamsa; Saidi’s Gulistan; Hafiz’s Diwan; Jami’s

Baharistan and Tutinama other paintings.

Under him artiste of various countries was employed, apart from Sayyid Ali and

Samad, some prominent Hindu artists were active in his court. Like Bashawan,

Miskina. Keshvdad and Daswanth, Bashawan was contributor in the illustration

of Razmnama.

A Scene from Razmnama

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During his reign, the art that developed was mostly on themes that were related

to the court and empire, though themes were secular but elitist in their

representations. The common masses were not able to link itself with this art.

His reign can be classified as a period for rise of the art of miniature paintings

which reached the highest point during the reign of his son, Jahangir.

1.4 Jahangir

Under his patronage miniature paintings reached the zenith. Like his father he

had deep interest in paintings but he was more actively involved in the

production of various paintings. Percy Brown appreciated the presence of

realismvi in the mature Mughal paintings as they inspire from the courtly events,

and they were smaller as they originally meant as illustrations in the books.

He had developed interest from the beginning. In the days of his princehood, in

Allahabad he had many painters in his service like Aqa Riza who was master in

Safavid style. Other artists included people like Bishandas, Mudhu, Anant,

Manohar, Govardhan, and Ustad Mansur.

Since the days of Akbar, a single painting was product of the contribution of

two or three artists working on a single painting. One artist made tarrah

(sketch), another artist made Aml (painting), in some cases a third artists was

involved in chira numa (portrait) and fourth made surat (figure drawing), in

very few cases few inscriptions mention about a fifth one who does rangrezi

(colouring).vii

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 Jahangir holding a portrait of Akbar

1.4.1 Process of making- the Mughal atelier consisted of artists of various

countries. Each of the artist was specialised in one type of skill. The atelier was

a kind of hierarchical space where on the top was the master artist usually with

the title of Ustad. Under him were many artists who specialised in one step of

production of a miniature. Under them were numerous apprentice who received

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training. The head artist would give orders and the chief artist would do the

composition. As the layout was ready the other smaller artists did other parts of

the painting some drawing the figure, other painting the background.

The Ustad artists were usually from central Asia but few Hindustani artists

could attain the level of skill that they were recognised as the Ustad like

Mansur. We also find signatures of the artists on some works. In cases where

signatures were absent, it makes difficult to recognise, but Jahangir was a close

observer and he could recognise the artist from the style of painting even when

signature were not there.

Therefore, the ateliers were the like training schools for the learning artists who

received various kinds of knowledge under the expert advice, there were also

some practical works carried out to improve the skills of the young artist. The

atelier was also a place where other than artists, calligraphers, book binders and

border makers also contribute their talent in painting production.

1.4.2 Themes- Jahangir was fond of hunting and would go for regular hunting

expeditions regularly. In Palam and other regions around Delhi he established

hunting lodges. These hunting expeditions were time when he would see nature

and varieties of plants and animals. Therefore, the themes during Jahangir’s

reign were on the nature, depicting hunting scenes, some new plants and

animals or birds he saw during hunting. Whatever interests him was painted.

During the hunting expeditions he was accompanied by painters who would

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paint on Jahangir’s order. This was the period of naturalism, more detailed and

in-depth portrayal of figures. Some of the famous paintings were Turkey cock,

chameleon and zebra by Mansur, squirrels on a chenar tree by Abul Hasan

Nadir-al Zaman.

Turkey cock

The other new theme introduced were introduction of portraiture. During

Akbar’s time portraiture were depicted in font of a building but the art

developed during Jahangir’s time. Under him portraits were of full length

standing in front of a turquois background in profile posture. Some examples

were of portrait of dying Inayat Khan. The plain background allows to focus on

the portrait completely. There was focus on single event or personality during

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his reign, most the portraits were that of the important nobles, prince, emperors

or some Sufi Shiekh. We do not find portraits of royal women with exception of

Nur Jahan, nor paintings of common people were painted.

Two Tulips and an Iris

Dying Inayat Khan

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1.4.3 Foreign influence- the foreigners, particularly the English, were present

in the Mughal court from the time of Akbar. In the reign of Jahangir as well

foreigners were also present. Officials of East India Company like William

Hawkins was in the Jahangir’s court in 1610. European elements were included

in the paintings, for example in a painting called Darbar of Jahangir above the

emperor throne a small picture of Virgin Mary was included and a Jesuit priest

was also painted. Other European elements included was halo around the head

of the head of the emperor or some spiritual person which indicated the divinity

of the person.

The 16th century renaissance in Europe which focused on humanism,

individuality, reality and precision also influenced the miniature paintings as

well. Therefore, more realistic pictures were produced, single person portraits

were encouraged and real events other than mythical events were painted. For

the use of colours, light shades were used, frequently used were lapiz lazuli,

turquoise, red ochre, brown. Majority of them were produced from Indian

minerals except lapiz lazuli that was imported.

During the reign of Jahangir very perfect mixture of local and foreign elements

in paintings happened.

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1.5 Shah Jahan

He was born as Khurram, to Jahangir. He was an able ruler, like his father he

took interest in art. Jahangir was a good patron of miniature paintings, but shah

Jahan was more interested in architecture. You know some of the monuments

erected under his patronage-Taj Mahal and Red Fort in Agra and Delhi

respectively. But during his reign paintings were also produced. But historian

agree that during his reign the dynamic character of the paintings declined and

first-time signs of deterioration were visible. Majority of the themes were

around royal visits to the spiritual people. But the uniqueness was for the first-

time night scenes were painted. The other innovation was the introduction of

Siyahi Qalam a technique consisted of fine, line drawings with use of pale

colours and gold. Majority of the paintings produced were meant for the albums

(muraqqas). The portraits consisted of the figure standing in profile pose, with

halo behind his head and holding a flower in one hand. Some of the best

painting was Emperor Shah Jahan on the Peacock throne, A Prince Visiting a

Hermitage, Battle Scene, Birth of Jahangir. After death of Shah Jahan (1666),

his son Aurangzeb took over. During his rule the art of the art of painting

witnessed final decline.

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Shah Jahan’s interest in monumental activities was the chief cause for the

gradual decline of the miniature paintings. Though, some new techniques were

also introduced in terms of technique and styles but gradual decline was started

which was completed during the reign of Aurangzeb.

Shah Jahan on the Peacock throne

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1.6 Paintings as source of Power

So far you know that paintings were produced for many reasons. One it was

used for the purpose of book illustration and on the other hand paintings also

helped in the political legitimacy.

During Akbar’s reign, which also marked millennium year (1000) of years of

Islam. Therefore, to gain the support of the Muslim population and ulema of the

empire some important works related to philosophies of Islam and moral

guidance, were illustrated. Humza mama, and Tuti Nama were the most popular

illustrations. Humza Nama deals with the life Humza, an Arab adventure,

consisting of various stories on escape, adventure, romance. Tuti Nama was

didactic, normative work that gives 52 stories related to ethics and moralities.

By supporting the illustration of these works, Akbar wanted to disseminate the

ideas and philosophies.

On the other hand, he also patronised the illustration of the Mahabharata, known

as Razmnama (book of wars). It was a graphic illustration of various episodes

from Mahabharata. During his reign Ramayana was also translated into Persian.

Such patronages helped the emperor to gain the popular support both from the

Hindu and Muslim population of the empire. It also conveyed the imperial

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ideology where the emperor represented himself as the king of everyone. Such

political rituals helped in the stable political base.

The other ways to gain support and legitimacy was through themes and the

symbolic representations within the paintings itself.

Jahangir was the close observer of his natural surroundings. He took keen

interest in the paintings, where he knew style of each artist. The paintings

produced during his period saw the introduction of two new elements. One was

the European concepts and characters, and other was use of animals.

There was frequent use of Halo, a lightening circle behind the head. The Halo

was borrowed from Europe, which was used for important spiritual or religious

figures like Christ, Virgin Mary. Its use in Mughal paintings was generally

around the emperor or Sufi sheikhs. The emperor was seen as zill-e-Ilahi

(shadow of God on earth). The other European motifs were Virgin Mary and

Cupids. Both of them were integral part of Christianity.

Europeans, especially English were present at the Jahangir’s court. They also

received trade permission from him. Therefore, there was influence of

Europeans on the miniature paintings.

The other motif was use of animals. The paintings of Jahangir were full of

animals that were either used as part of the natural surroundings or to convey

symbols of peace in the empire. In one of the paintings under Jahangir, he was

shown standing on a globe like structure in which rest a lamb and a lion next to

each other. It shows that in the empire there was peaceful co-existence. In the

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same painting Jahangir was show holding bow and arrow with which he tries to

hit a weak, black, thin, naked, old man who represents poverty. Over the head

were cherubs who carry the royal crown, which represents that the angles

proclaiming him the king, the Divine Right to rule.

Jahangir shoots Poverty

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Azfar Moin, studied the relation between Mughal and Safavid nature of

kingship. He argued in both of these empires the king fashioned himself as the

sacred, and like a sainthood. They model their court in the manner like Sufi

khanqahs, and projected themselves as ‘messiah’. viii Under the new king, new

era of peace and justice was started as Islam completed one thousand years. ix

Humayun during his exile at Safavid court saw the court model, and the way

emperor style himself, he was influenced by that. But it was Akbar who first

styled himself as the sacred king. Through rituals and institutions, the messiah

image was imposed. Rituals like Din-i-Ilahi, and terms used for Akbar like Zil-i-

Ilahi, helped the king to achieve the sacred image. He also tried to imitate Shah

Iamail, the founder of Safavid empire. x By doing this he tries to link himself

with the sacred kings.

This dive nature of rule was also seen the miniature paintings. Some of the

paintings depict emperor involved in the ritual of Jharokha Darshan. Others

show them in the company of Sufis. A halo around their head, or some religious

figure giving him globe to rule, which means his he had received the right to

rule from spiritual men. The symbols used in the miniature paintings during 17 th

century were tools to disperse imperial ideologies and political motives.

The paintings were both a form of an art and a message for the people of the

empire, which helped in the political legitimacy. Without stable base the empire

declines, therefore, various types of mediums were invented to get physical and

mental support.

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1.7 Conclusion

The art has many forms and meanings. Each form of an art is used for multiple

purposes. Paintings is one form of art. Paintings produced during the Mughal

empire, especially during the reign of Akbar and Shahjahan were well known.

These small size paintings, called the ‘miniature paintings’ were used for the

illustrations of the texts, they were also used for the albums. Mainly graphic

representation of the events, ideas or people. These paintings were generally

based on the life or events related to the emperor like his coronation, hunting

scenes, visit to some religious figure, battle scenes.

The works produced under Jahangir’s patronage revolved around ecological and

political events. Birds, animals, plants that were unique were painted. Moreover,

there were political as well which were symbolically painted to suite imperial

ideology. But under Shahjahan, this art took a downward course, the sighs of

decline were visible. As he took more interest in architecture, paintings were

given less importance. There was no development but few new techniques like

Siyahi Qalam and night scenes were painted.

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 Overall, the miniature paintings were both used for the beautification and

ideological support to sustain their power. They were the source of legitimacy of

power for the emperor and the empire.

1.8 Summary

In this chapter you have read about the origin of miniature paintings and how

this art came to Hindustan. How this art developed during Akbar’s period. This

art form reached new heights during the reign of Jahangir. His love for nature

was seen in the themes. After his death there was slow progress of paintings,

finally declining during Aurangzeb’s reign. In the last you read about how

paintings were seen as a medium to spread imperial beliefs, which help to gain

support from all sections of the society empire.

1.9 Questions

1) Explain the origin and rise of miniature paintings during the Mughal empire.

2) How did the nature and themes of miniature paintings evolve from Akbar to

Jahangir?

1.10 Answers (points to remember)

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1) The origin in Persian empire; Humayun’s exile and his experience; abkar’s

coronation and rise of new era; his patronage to artists and big atelier;

various themes painted; reign of Jahangir and his interest in nature; paintings

of animals, flowers, scenic view produced; paintings showing him as king of

the world; coming a Shahjahan an era of gradual decline and few new things

added like night scenes and siyahi Qalam technique

2) Coronation of Akbar and many new changes in empire; he developed sacred

kingship and sainthood of the emperor; his patronage to Hindu and Muslim

artists; many paintings produced on political and religious themes; court

scenes were common; pictorial representation of classical texts of

Razmnama, Hamzanam and Tutinama; his son Jahangir patronised many

artists, his love for naturalism and realism was seen in the paintings and their

themes; after him gradual decline under shah Jahan.

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i
Percy Brown, The Heritage of India: Indian Painting, (Calcutta: The Association Press, 1920), pg. 44
ii
Edith Tomory, A History of Fine Arts in India and the West, (Hyderabad, Oriental Blackswan Pvt. Ltd, first published in
1982, reprint 2017), pg. 250
iii
Percy Brown, The Heritage of India: Indian Painting, (Calcutta: The Association Press, 1920), pg. 43
iv
Ibid. pg. 44
v
Steven Kossak, Indian Court Painting 16th-19th century, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997), pg. 9
vi
Percy Brown, The Heritage of India: Indian Painting, (Calcutta: The Association Press, 1920), pp. 45-46

vii
Edith Tomory, A History of Fine Arts in India and the West, (Hyderabad, Oriental Blackswan Pvt. Ltd, first published in
1982, reprint 2017), pg. 251

viii
Azfar, Moin, The Millennial Sovereign: sacred kingship and sainthood in Islam, (Columbia: Columbia University Press,
2012), pg. 1
ix
Ibid.
x
Ibid. pp.2-4

1.11 Suggested Readings

-Percy Brown, The Heritage of India: Indian Painting, (Calcutta: The Association
Press, 1920
-Azfar, Moin, The Millennial Sovereign: sacred kingship and sainthood in Islam,
(Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2012
-Edith Tomory, A History of Fine Arts in India and the West, (Hyderabad, Oriental
Blackswan Pvt. Ltd, first published in 1982, reprint 2017)
-Som Prakash Verma, Interpreting Mughal Painting: essays on art, society and
culture, (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009, reprint 2011)