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The Art of Asia
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INDIAN COURT PAINTING
(16th-19th century)
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FOUR CENTURIES OF INDIAN PAINTINQ
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In other states, such as Amber, Bikaner (in the first half of the
seventeenth century), and Raghugarh, elements of the provincial
Mughal drawing style were melded with the coloristic vibrancy and
unmod-eled planes of color typical of the Rajput style (see
below).
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Krishna Fluting
1610
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In still others, such as Bundi (beginning in the last years
of the sixteenth century) and Bikaner (in the second quarter of the
seventeenth century), contemporaneous Mughal styles seem to have
been the dominant influence, leading modes of drawing and coloration
to be adopted that were more sophisticated and naturalistic than
those of the popular Mughal tradition (see below).
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A Royal Horse with his Groom
1640
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Panchama Ragini
1640
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Once produced for a court, manuscripts of this early period often
became models for succeeding generations of artists at that court.
In some cases we know this was because several generations of
artists from a single family used the same preliminary drawings. In
other instances artists undoubtedly had access to earlier sets of
drawings and simply repeated their compositions, which contained all
the requisite elements to portray a particular story or theme. As is
to be expected in a conservative society; iconographic correctness
was usually more important to the Indian artist than artistic
innovation. However, the relative proportions of the pictures'
components and the styles in which they were rendered show
variations over time.
Akbar's long reign ended when he died in 1605. He was succeeded as
Mughal emperor by Salim, his son by an Amber (Rajasthani) princess,
who took the name Jahangir (World Seizer). Jahangir (r. 1605-27)
divided his time between Lahore and Delhi. He had grown up during
the heyday of Akbar's atelier and was a consummate connoisseur of
painting; in a work set before him, he claimed, he could identify
the hand of any of the court artists, no matter how small the
contribution. When Jahangir had been appointed to posts in the
provinces he had maintained his own artists, some of the best of
whom worked in a Persian-inspired style. His taste was not for the
ambitious manuscript projects dealing with historic or mythical
events that his father had favored, but rather for highly finished
single works that recorded his own experiences. Greater naturalism,
a more subdued, less contrived palette, more lyrical compositions,
and an increased depth of characterization were the result. The
subject matter of paintings made during Jahangir's reign is
idiosyncratic and seems quite clearly to reflect his own interests.
His finest painters became specialists in particular genres such as
portraiture or natural history studies (see below).
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Nilgal (Blue Bull)
1620
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Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) with his Son Dara Shikoh
1620
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also collected miniatures and had them set into albums with
elaborately decorated margins. Jahangir probably reduced the size of
Akbar's painting atelier on his accession, retaining only the finest
of the artists most attuned to his own aesthetic. Some of the best
of these—Manohar, Abu'l Hasan, and Govardhan—were the sons of
artists from the Akbari atelier and had begun working in the atelier
during Akbar's lifetime. The unneeded artists presumably sought
patronage among the lesser nobility of the imperial and Hindu
courts.
Jahangir's son Shah Jahan (r. 1627—58) ascended the Mughal throne in
1627. Although he undoubtedly enjoyed painting, he seems to have
been less intent on sponsoring it than his father and grandfather:
his chief penchants were building and the accumulation of jewels
(see below).
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Shah Julian on a Terrace Holding a Pendant Set with His Portrait
1627
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While (like his grandfather Akbar) he commissioned an
illustrated history of his reign, the Pad-shah-nama, in general a
decorative approach to painting gained ascendancy, the intellectual
probing of the Jahangiri period was lost, and manuscript production
lagged. Shahjahan's love of luxury and decoration was expressed in a
group of remarkable albums of both old and new pictures that were
assembled at his behest. They were set in pages and the borders
lavished with superb drawn or painted images, some carried out by
the atelier's finest artists. Despite the emperor's lack of
sustained interest, court painting continued throughout his reign,
and some darbar (royal audience) scenes of great finish and
quality were produced, as well as a great number of portraits, many
of which glorified the emperor (see below). The royal
atelier's size may have been reduced once again, for we know that
some of the court artists accepted commissions from lesser members
of the court to execute both miniatures and wall paintings.
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Akbar, with Lion and Heifer
1630
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Shri Bhairavi Devi
1630
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Shah Jahan Watching an Elephant Fight
1639
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Shamsa (Rosette) Bearing the Name and Titles of the Emperor Shah
Jahan
1645 |
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