Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c15.4

c15.4

Two factors aided not a little in the perfection of the art under Jahangir’s tuition. The principal one, as will have been gathered, was this monarch’s own artistic personality. The other was the settled state of the country during his rule. When he took up the reins of government, the emperor found himself able to contemplate, with a serenity which suited his ease-loving nature, a great empire in the building up of which all the hard work had been done for him by his predecessors. During the whole of his reign, therefore, he walked in the ways of pleasantness. In his life he was to reap where others had sown. And Jahangir’s disposition was admirably constituted to revel in all the good things which his forbears, by sword and by sweat of brow, had provided for him. But of the two factors referred to, the personal element was the one which had the greater influence on the progress of art during his time. Correctly, therefore, to appreciate the character of the painting executed under Jahangir, it is necessary to realize some aspects of this monarch’s individuality, to see him as king as well as art patron. This having been attained, his connexion with the school will become intelligible and lead to an understanding of the aims and ideals of the art itself.