Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c16.29

c16.29

Hard times indeed had descended on art when those who followed it were dealt with in so inconsiderate a fashion, and the contrast between the state thus described and the halcyon days under Jahangir needs no comment. It should be noted, however, that Bernier’s remarks apply entirely to ‘bazaar’ artisans, who seem to have been employed on something equivalent to a factory system, with all its attendant evils when badly administered. On the other hand fair treatment seems to have been afforded to the superior craftsmen, who continued to work in comfort and safety as long as they were in the service of any nobleman or high official, many of whom retained a small staff of artisans versed in a variety of trades as a necessary part of their retinue. The bazaar artists, of whom the French traveller writes with such feeling, were not men of great talent, as the large amount of ‘commercial’ painting produced at the time amply demonstrates, but, having been well trained in the manipulation of their materials, were craftsmen of fair technical ability. Their aptitude in this direction they applied mainly in making duplicates of the original pictures painted by their more skilful brethren, so that several copies of the same miniature were often produced. To enable them to carry on their art they were wont to provide themselves with collections of tracings of well-known pictures by contemporary, and also deceased, artists of repute, especially those containing portraits of eminent personages. Such tracings formed a very necessary part of their stock-in-trade, so that they were always in a position to paint a reproduction of any popular picture, or the likeness of any historical individual, whenever called upon to do so. At the same time they were also prepared to execute original work, as for instance a series of family portraits or the illustrations of a book, but their handiwork was not of the highest order, and payment was made in proportion to their proficiency. Many pictures of this order have survived, and, as they not infrequently consist of copies of pictures belonging to an earlier period and style, some confusion in classifying these has naturally arisen. The two genuine Akbari pictures illustrated on Plates IX and X have been copied by an artist at a later date, whose facsimiles may be studied in the *muraqqa‘* numbered Or. 18807 in the British Museum collection. In each case there are deviations from the originals, while the drawing and execution show the touch of a less experienced hand. Regarded as a whole, the painting executed during Shah Jahan’s reign presents us with an interesting example of an art which, while outwardly maintaining the semblance of its original vitality, nevertheless manifests in its forced superiority the first premonitions of decay. Instead of the carefully composed harmonies of colour of the early Jahangiri period, the pictures tend to display a superfluity of rich pigments and an extravagant use of gold. Moreover, in the selection of subject-matter there appears a growing desire for the strange and fantastic rather than the beautiful, as shown by those bizarre drawings of animals built up of other animals, and similar freaks of design. In the matter of technique and in the quality of the drawing generally, the traditional manual dexterity is still retained, but on the other hand an inclination to an over-elaboration of colour and an increase in the amount of detail is observable. The first fine vigour and spontaneity has become less pronounced, and much of the work creates the impression that the artists held very little in reserve. In a word one detects behind all the lavish display which is the main characteristic of the painting under Shah Jahan, that sense of over-ripeness which is the sure sign of decline.