Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c16.38.1

c16.38.1

These, and many similar records, certainly favour the supposition that Aurangzeb gave little encouragement to his people in the sphere of art, but whether he persisted throughout the whole of his reign in prohibiting any form of expression of which he did not personally approve is far from proved. On the contrary there is much material forthcoming which conclusively demonstrates that the arts generally flourished very much as they did under his less bigoted predecessors. And miniature painting is a case in point. The number of pictures that were produced during the latter half of the seventeenth century, although undoubtedly inferior in quality, is as great, if not greater, than in the previous period. Moreover, that many of these paintings were executed with the emperor's concurrence, if not at his express command, is shown by the fact that they often include a portrait of Aurangzeb himself. We see him hunting, travelling, reading, governing, and commanding his army, exactly as Jahangir and Shah Jahan were depicted in the miniatures of their time. But one fact may be noticed. In almost all these pictures he is shown as an old man, often bent almost double with age; rarely is he represented even in his prime, always in his declining years. And the question may be asked, did he, after riper judgement, and late in life, relent and give his royal assent to the continuance of the painters' art?