A ROYAL RAM WITH A GOLD CHAIN

Original Works: India, Mughal c. 1585

Mughal painting is a particular style of South Asian, particularly Indian, painting confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums (muraqqa).

It emerged from Persian miniature painting (itself partly of Chinese origin) and developed in the court of the Mughal Empire of the 16th to 18th centuries. The Mughal emperors were Muslims and they are credited with consolidating and spreading both Muslim and Persian arts and culture.

Mughal painting immediately took a much greater interest in realistic portraiture than was typical of Persian miniatures. Animals and plants were the main subject of many miniatures for albums,

. Subjects are rich in variety and include portraits, events and scenes from court life, wild life and hunting scenes, and illustrations of battles.

After the death of Akbar, architect of the Mughal empire and active patron of the arts, his son Jahangir (r. 1605–27) ascended to the throne and prince, Jahangir had established and had strong artistic tastes. He preferring a single painter to work on an image rather than the collaborative method of Akbar’s time.

Jahangir’s claimed that he could instantly recognize any painter’s work is a reflection of the rise of the individual artist

The style of the Mughal school developed within the royal atelier. Knowledge was primarily transmitted through familial and apprenticeship relationships, and the system of joint manuscript production which brought multiple artists together for single works.

In some cases, senior artists would draw the illustrations in outline, and more junior ones would usually apply the colours, especially for background areas. Where no artist names are inscribed, it is very difficult to trace Imperial Mughal paintings back to specific artists.

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