Indian subcontinent has abundance of historical art remains. Traditional values have evolved through generations and still exist in India. Cultures differ state to state. This also brought changes in the artistic styles. Paintings have flourished and modified through these centuries. Different techniques were developed for different artistic designs. From Cave paintings to Modern and Contemporary designs, from abstraction to figurative paintings, artists brought up astonishing styles and formed a collaboration of “Indian Art”. India has been in discussions for its traditions and traditional art. Migration of foreign troops like British, Mughals, Persians and Turks led to the mix-up of traditions. Any person who comes from a non-Indian background often gets confused by the presence of ambiguous religions and cultures in India.
One such type of Indian Traditional Paintings is Mughal artwork. Because of the longest reign of Mughals, the paintings kept evolving for a very long time. They were first created by Persian artists and were influenced by Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism artworks as well. They were earlier in the form of miniature paintings only i.e. they were very small in size in comparison to other art styles. They were enormously displayed in Mughal courts.
Humayun, the second ruler of Mughal dynasty brought two Persian artists in India along him. He earned a commission every time he sold a Mughal paintings and he also took over his brother’s workshop of Mughal paintings in Kabul. “Khamsa of Nizami” is perhaps his infamous and major commission. Various artists had used different and exceptional styles to decorate 36 pages of that book. He also asked artists to create miniatures of his own paintings with his family which also gained a lot of attention by Mughals.
Akbar, the dominant ruler in Mughal dynasty, led this art to much further improvisations. Along with being a great ruler, he transpired as a symbol of cultural excellence. He did various contributions to art and expanded the business of Mughal art. Mughal paintings also made their way to Hinduism as they depicted stories like Ramayna and Mahabharta, along with other artistic styles like images of animals or portraits of individuals. Over one hundred painters were hired to practice Mughal art paintings under his reign.
Under Jahangir, Mughal paintings modified. Bright colors were not used in abundance anymore. They preferred the use of light colors and very fine use of brush. He did not prefer the multi-layered style and gave importance to single point perspective. English crown often gifted him oil paintings. Paintings which portrayed his own life or flowers and animals were more appealing to him.
during the reign of Shah Jahan, Mughal Paintings developed but the themes became different. They started to depict lovers or intimate scenes and importance was given to themes revolving around fire.
While Aurangzeb, did not pay much attention to the Mughal paintings and it gradually led to their decline.
The most notable painter of the dynasty was Govardhan. Though Rajput paintings were becoming eminent when Mughal paintings came to the verge of ending and most of the painters shifted to Rajput workshops.
Currently, Rajasthan still has schools for manufacturing of Mughal paintings. Jaipur has numerous numbers of artists for paintings these artworks. Modern version of Mughal paintings is being produced by dozens of workers.
Rajasthan is a major tourism spot in India. Many forts and palaces there depict the history of Rajasthan which includes the rule of Mughals and Rajputs. Mughal paintings are displayed in different parts of Rajasthan. They are also exhibited in numerous famous galleries outside India. Indian traditional art has gained much recognition through all centuries. With diversified styles and categories of traditional paintings, India has made an utmost position in art.
