Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c15.19

c15.19

Unlike his father, Jahangir does not seem to have taken lessons in painting, but from his boyhood he was brought into contact with the subject in a variety of ways. As a youth he saw the religious pictures which the first Jesuit mission brought to the court of the ‘Great Mogul’, for he accompanied the emperor to their chapel, and heard the discussions which took place concerning these examples of Western painting. This gave him an interest in European art which lasted all his life. He was present at Fathpur Sikri when the walls of the palaces were decorated with pictures in the Persian style, and he lived in some of the halls around which were friezes of elephant fights and sporting scenes painted by the Hindu artists under Akbar’s orders. While yet a prince, he took into his service a painter from Herat of the name of Aqa Riza, but, as he afterwards confesses, not a man of much fame, although his son Abu’l-Hasan became a distinguished exponent of the brush. In this connexion he seems to have exercised a certain amount of patronage towards the arts, even in his youthful days, inspired to do so no doubt by the example set by the emperor. Early in life, however, he drifted away from his parent, with whom he had small community of taste, and on the whole we know little of his relations with artists until he became king. Previous to arriving at this exalted state, any distinctive characteristics, especially his artistic proclivities, were completely overshadowed by the outstanding personality of his father. But, when this was removed, the real nature of Jahangir becomes apparent, and from this point the conduct of his whole life testifies to his passion for every form of art, especially pictures. During his early years this *flair*, for want of opportunity, was suppressed within him, smouldering but never allowed to burn. Then it blazed forth with additional ardour, and the work of his court painters reflected in full measure the spirit of this fire.