Miniature Paintings During Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Period

There is different classification of Indian Paintings like Mural paintings, Miniature paintings etc. The word ‘miniature’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Minium’ which means red lead paint. The miniature painting art was developed in India between 8^th and 12^th centuries and further flourished with coming centuries. Miniatures are small and detailed paintings and there are different schools which developed with time.

With the arrival of Islamic rulers to India, new cultural elements were introduced in India and the integration of these element with Indian counter-parts gave birth to new form of arts in India.

Also Read : Miniature Paintings – Techniques and Early Miniature

Mural Paintings in India

Indian Paintings – Principles and Pre-Historic Paintings

Miniature Paintings During Delhi Sultanate

The paintings of Sultanate period tried to bring Persian elements with Indian traditional elements. During this period, they gave preference to illustrated manuscripts and one of the finest examples of this art is Nimatnama (a book on cookery) during the reign of Nasir Shah of Mandu. Nimatnama shows the synthesis of indigenous and Persian styles. Lodi Khuladar was another style during this period dominated the region between Jaunpur and Delhi.

Mughal Period Miniature Paintings

During this period, the main focus was on glorifying the rulers in paintings. The paintings of this period were influenced by the Persian antecedents as there was a change in the color palette, themes and forms. They focused on hunting scenes, historical events and other court related paintings. The Mughal paintings brought together Persian naturalistic style with the opulence of a great dynasty and created some beautifully illustrated folios.

Early Mughal Painters

The Mughal empire was established by Babur in c. 1526 and he did not get enough time to make some changes but it was believed that he patronised the Persian artist, known as Bihzad who illustrated the family tree of Mughals. Humayun was a great patronage of art and culture but due to continuous struggle in his life time with Sur’s, he contributed in limits.

Humayun acquired the services of two main painters; Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali, from the court of Shah Abbas of Persia (during his exile days). When he won back throne from Sur, these painters brought the Persian influence on the Indian paintings and created many successful illustrated albums. An illustrated album, Tutinama (tale of a parrot) was created by them during the reign of Akbar.

Akbar    

Akbar was a great patronage of paintings; he established a dedicated department of paintings; Tasvir Khana. In this department, artists were hired on salary and motivated to develop their own styles and they were keep motivated by giving awards to painters who created lifelike images. Paintings were also influenced by Indian elements because Akbar also hired painters of Indian origin.

The important feature of paintings of Akbar period was the use of three-dimensional figures. The art of calligraphy was promoted and painters were mainly focused on depicting the scenes of court life than the life of masses. Daswant, Basawan and Kesu were famous painters of Akbar’s reign, and Tutinama, Hamzanama, Anvar-i-Suhaili and Guilistan of Sadi were the prominent illustrated manuscripts of the Akbar’s reign.

Jahangir

The Mughal paintings reached to its zenith during the reign of Jahangir. The paintings during the reign of Jahangir were more naturalistic in nature as they preferred the paintings of fauna and flora like animals, birds, trees etc. Jahangir put more emphasis on bringing more naturalism to portrait paintings. Decorated margins were another important feature of paintings of this age.

Jahangir was himself considered to be a good artist and he had his own private workshop but no major work of him survives. His most famous naturalistic paintings are of Zebra, the turkey and the cock. Ustad Mansoor was most famous painters of his reign who was expert in drawing complex faces. Ayar-i-Danish (touchstone of knowledge), an animal fable, illustrated during the reign of Jahangir.

Shah Jahan

The tenor of paintings changed rapidly during the reign of Shah Jahan as he liked to create artificial elements and he tried to reduce the liveliness of paintings. The paintings of his reign were also influence by European style. He encouraged artists to use charcoal and pencil to draw sketches. He also ordered to increase the use of gold and silver in paintings and he liked to use light colors in paintings.

The art of paintings started to decline during the reign of Aurangzeb as he was an orthodox Muslim ruler and hence, didn’t allow such arts in his court.