Mughal painting
In the 1540s, Humayun fled to Persia and found himself at the court of Shah Tahmasp I in Tabriz. There he witnessed Persian miniature painting firsthand, a tradition that would soon reshape Indian art. He commissioned an unusually large cloth painting titled Princes of the House of Timur, now held in the British Museum. This work originally depicted his sons but later gained additions under Jahangir to include dead ancestors. When Humayun returned to India, he brought two accomplished Persian artists with him: Abd al-Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali. These men became the foundation of the imperial atelier. Their presence marked the beginning of a new era where Mughal painting drew little from indigenous non-Muslim traditions like Hindu or Jain styles. Instead, it leaned heavily on foreign culture introduced by earlier Central Asian dynasties such as the Ghaznavids. The first surviving manuscripts from this lineage date to around 1500 in Mandu, though many earlier examples may have been lost or attributed to southern Persia.
Between 1562 and 1577, the imperial workshop produced the Hamzanama, a massive manuscript consisting of 1,400 cotton folios measuring approximately 69 cm by 54 cm. Each page featured densely woven figures, often crowded together in scenes of romantic interludes, threats, narrow escapes, and violent acts. This colossal project took most of the 1560s and beyond, serving as a means to unify disparate artistic styles from Iran and various parts of India into one cohesive school. Senior artists would draw illustrations in outline while junior painters applied colors, especially for background areas. Knowledge was transmitted through familial and apprenticeship relationships rather than formal academies. For large historical book projects like the Tutinama, Baburnama, and Razmnama, individual miniatures were assigned to many painters. An incomplete copy of the Razmnama in the British Library contains 24 miniatures with 21 different names inscribed below them. Akbar liked seeing artist names written beneath each miniature, allowing modern scholars to trace individual contributions across decades of production.
From fairly early on, Mughal portraiture adopted strict profile poses influenced by Western prints available at court. The head appeared in full profile while the rest of the body turned half toward the viewer. These images rarely varied over time and initially depicted only men accompanied by generalized female servants or concubines. Some scholars claim no known extant likenesses exist for figures like Jahanara Begum or Mumtaz Mahal, though others attribute certain miniatures to these noblewomen. Under Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the ruler's portrait became a leading subject in Indian miniature painting. Equestrian portraits emerged as another popular borrowing from Europe during the 17th century. Scenes showing the Jharokha Darshan placed the emperor atop a balcony or window overlooking crowds of courtiers below. Large halos surrounded later emperors, reflecting aspirations to project quasi-divine status. By Shah Jahan's reign, portraits of kings remained in strict profile while servants and common people appeared in three-quarter or frontal views with individualized features.
Ustad Mansur worked between approximately 1590 and 1624 specializing exclusively in birds and animal studies for albums. His paintings included detailed depictions of creatures like nilgai alongside flowers and plants described in Babur's memoirs. Milo C. Beach argues that early animal imagery consisted more on variations of themes than truly innovative observations. He sees considerable borrowings from Chinese animal paintings on paper which reached India because they were not highly valued by Chinese collectors. The text of the Baburnama includes numerous descriptions of such subjects illustrated in copies made for Akbar. During Jahangir's reign, brushwork became finer and colors lighter as he encouraged studies of birds, flowers, and animals. Paintings depicting events of his own life sometimes featured unusual subjects such as the union of a saint with a tigress or fights between spiders. These natural history studies formed a distinct genre within Mughal painting that emphasized realism over symbolic representation.
Between 1560 and 1566, the Tutinama Tales of a Parrot was illustrated showing stylistic components of imperial Mughal style at a formative stage. This manuscript now resides in the Cleveland Museum of Art and contains some 250 rather simple miniatures mostly featuring only a few figures. In contrast, Akbar's Hamzanama had unusually large pages made of densely woven cotton rather than usual paper. Images were often crowded with figures telling stories of romantic interludes threatening events narrow escapes and violent acts supposedly describing the life of an uncle of Muhammad. Other large projects included biographies like the Baburnama translated into Persian around 1589 with up to 183 miniatures each. The Akbarnama served as Akbar's commissioned biography produced in many versions while Jahangir's autobiography Tuzk-e-Jahangiri continued the tradition. Volumes of Persian poetry usually contained fewer miniatures often around twenty but these were frequently of highest quality. Four known copies of the Razmnama Mahabharata in Persian existed between 1585 and later years alongside other works like the Ramayana Bhagavata Purana Harivamsa and Panchatantra.
During Shah Jahan's reign from 1628 to 1658 court paintings became more rigid and formal. Illustrations from the Padshahnama Book of the Emperor featured exquisitely rendered images flecked with gold on paper written in Persian. Portraits of courtiers and servants displayed great detail and individuality yet adhered to strict formality expected at court. Themes including musical parties lovers sometimes in intimate positions on terraces and gardens ascetics gathered around fires abounded throughout this period. Aurangzeb never enthusiastically patronized painting largely for religious reasons taking a turn away from pomp and ceremonial around 1668 after which he probably commissioned no more paintings. After 1681 he moved to the Deccan pursuing slow conquests never returning north. A brief revival occurred during Muhammad Shah's reign from 1719 to 1748 but by Shah Alam II's time from 1759 to 1806 Mughal art had lost its glory. Late Mughal style showed increased use of perspective under Western influence seen in works by Ghulam Ali Khan Ghulam Murtaza Khan and Mazhar Ali Khan.
Mughal-style miniature paintings continue being created today by small numbers of artists concentrated mainly in Lahore's National College of Arts. Many modern versions remain copies of originals though some artisans produce contemporary works using classic methods. Skills needed to generate these miniatures pass generationally although many employ dozens of workers often painting under trying conditions sold under signatures of modern masters. The sub-imperial school included artists like Mushfiq Kamal and Fazl not part of royal ateliers but patronized by nobles such as Abd-ur-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan who commissioned the Freer Ramayana. During first half of 18th century many Mughal-trained artists left imperial workshops working at Rajput courts including Bhavanidas active between 1700 and 1748 moving to Jodhpur then Kishangarh around 1728. Today museums worldwide hold significant collections including National Museum India Mehrangarh Museum Trust Rampur Raza Library British Library Walters Art Museum Victoria Albert Museum Metropolitan Museum Cleveland Museum San Diego Museum Royal Collection Trust Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya and Indian Museum.
Common questions
When did Humayun flee to Persia and bring Persian artists to India?
Humayun fled to Persia in the 1540s and returned to India with two accomplished Persian artists named Abd al-Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali. These men became the foundation of the imperial atelier that marked the beginning of a new era for Mughal painting.
What are the dimensions and composition of the Hamzanama manuscript produced between 1562 and 1577?
The Hamzanama is a massive manuscript consisting of 1,400 cotton folios measuring approximately 69 cm by 54 cm. Each page features densely woven figures often crowded together in scenes of romantic interludes threats narrow escapes and violent acts.
How did Mughal portraiture change under Shah Jahan compared to earlier emperors?
During Shah Jahan's reign from 1628 to 1658 portraits of kings remained in strict profile while servants and common people appeared in three-quarter or frontal views with individualized features. This period also saw large halos surrounding later emperors reflecting aspirations to project quasi-divine status.
Who was Ustad Mansur and what subjects did he specialize in during his career?
Ustad Mansur worked between approximately 1590 and 1624 specializing exclusively in birds and animal studies for albums. His paintings included detailed depictions of creatures like nilgai alongside flowers and plants described in Babur's memoirs.
When did Aurangzeb stop patronizing painting and why did this happen?
Aurangzeb never enthusiastically patronized painting largely for religious reasons taking a turn away from pomp and ceremonial around 1668 after which he probably commissioned no more paintings. He moved to the Deccan pursuing slow conquests never returning north after 1681.