Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c18.28.2

c18.28.2

Soon after arriving in Kabul, Humayun was so impressed with the Persian painter’s skill that he gave him the title of *Shirin-qalam* or ‘Sweet Pen’, while shortly after Akbar came to the throne he conferred on him the high official rank of *chaharsadi*. The latter monarch also, ‘on account of his former services, paid him great honour and reverence’. The respect that Akbar showed to the artist, and of which Abu’l Fazl makes a special note, arose from the fact that Abdus Samad had been his tutor, having taught him drawing at Kabul. The deference that an Indian, throughout the whole of his life, displays towards those, however humble, who have at any time acted as his instructors, is one of the most attractive traits in his character. Abdus Samad excelled in portraiture, notably in delineating the features and expression of the emperor, so much so that it is recorded that ‘his perfection was mainly due to the wonderful effect of a look of His Majesty, which caused him to turn from that which is form to that which is spirit’. It was, however, in his capacity as a teacher, of which his royal patron had personal knowledge, that he achieved the greatest renown. For Abu’l Fazl remarks that ‘from the instruction they received, the Khwajah’s pupils became masters’.