Miniature Painting Schools

Notes

Miniatures are small, detailed paintings on paper, palm-leaf, cloth or ivory, using natural pigments.
Pala: Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita).
Western Indian/Jain: bold lines, bright colours, protruding eyes, Kalpasutra manuscripts.
Mughal:
- Akbar: Persian + Indian fusion, Hamzanama, Tutinama, Razmnama.
- Jahangir: naturalism, portraits, bird and animal studies, with Ustad Mansur, Bishandas and Abul Hasan.
- Shah Jahan: refined and formal.
- Aurangzeb's patronage declined.
Rajasthani: Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh, Marwar and Jaipur. Themes are Ragamala, Krishna Lila and Gita Govinda. Kishangarh's "Bani Thani" is by Nihal Chand.
Pahari: Basohli (bold colours), Guler (Nainsukh, delicate), Kangra (lyrical, Gita Govinda, the most refined).
Deccan: Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda. Rich colours with Persian and Turkish influence. Ragamala of Ibrahim Adil Shah II.
Company School: a European and Indian blend of watercolours.

Key Points

Mughal style is secular, realistic and portrait-oriented. Rajasthani style is emotional, symbolic and religious.
Nainsukh (Guler) is the great Pahari master.
Hamzanama had about 1,400 large illustrations on cloth.

MCQs

1. "Bani Thani" belongs to:

(a) Bundi
(b) Kishangarh
(c) Kangra
(d) Basohli

Answers: 1-b

2. Ustad Mansur was a painter in the court of:

(a) Akbar
(b) Jahangir
(c) Shah Jahan
(d) Aurangzeb

Answers: 2-b

3. The most lyrical Pahari school is:

(a) Basohli
(b) Guler
(c) Kangra
(d) Chamba

Answers: 3-c