Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c18.33

c18.33

An artist who competed with Daswanth for the premier place in the school was his co-religionist Basawan. Of the individuality of this painter little is known except Abu’l Fazl’s brief note which says ‘in backgrounding, drawing of features, distribution of colours, portrait painting, and several other branches, he is most excellent, so much so, that many critics prefer him to Daswanth’. But of his work there are sufficient examples extant to enable us to study his style with some success. He possessed a peculiar touch which distinguishes his work from all others. Plate XXXV, taken from the Bodleian *Bahāristan*, is an example, from which we can see what a very able artist he was. It depicts, as the inscription states, a noted saint named Shaikh Abu’l Abbas Kassab addressing some sage remarks to a dervish who is engaged in repairing his garments. In general effect the picture is not striking: for an Indian painting it is chiefly remarkable for its subdued and harmonious colouring and softened outlines. The dervish is dressed in an olive green garment, while the Shaikh is in blue with an orange shawl. From the plumage of the peacocks one would expect a brilliant note, but even this is toned down slightly to accord with the general scheme. There is some careful drawing in the goats in the foreground, and the whole picture shows signs of studied refinement. If it is compared with others bearing the same name, as for instance fol. 34 in the British Museum *Dārābnāma*, although there are differences, a certain similarity in handling may be discerned. Except these two examples, however, in all the other pictures by Basawan he is associated with another artist, as in the Jaipur *Razmnāma*, where his name occurs twenty-nine times, and although here and there his distinctive touch may be identified, these do not add much to our knowledge of his style.