Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c20.27

c20.27

But the collection of Persian celebrities, historically important though it may be, is completely overshadowed by the mass of portraiture that was produced by the artists of the Mughals. The emperors themselves, from Babur the founder of the dynasty in 1526, right down the line to Bahadur Shah the last king of Delhi who died in exile in 1862, are fully represented, all of them drawn from life, and many of the portraits charming examples of the miniaturists’ art. Added to these are pictorial records of many of the warriors and scholars, who, either by their heroic deeds or cultured achievements, brought lustre to the Mughal rule. Here is Abu’l Fazl the historian, Akbar’s Boswell, as he has been aptly styled, the writer of the *A’in-i-Akbari* and the *Akbarnāma* besides other weighty volumes which throw a valuable light on the early administration of the Mughals. His brother Faizi, ‘prince of poets’, and Tansen the famous musician, as prominent masters of their respective arts, are frequently depicted. Chief among the Mughal ministers stands Todar Mall, who combined the duties of a general in the field with those of revenue minister, two very different offices, but both of which he filled with equal success. With him may be seen other famous Hindus who gave Akbar of their best in his work of reconciling the conflicting interests of the many various people that constituted the Mughal empire. Here is the Raja Birbal, now known mainly on account of his princely palace, one of the most attractive buildings at Fathpur Sikri; likewise Raja Man Singh of Amber, who fought so bravely side by side with his emperor at the battle of Sarnal, and showed his Rājput chivalry in many another desperate encounter. These and many others, named and unnamed, crowd the folios, or look out at us from collections of Indian miniatures. In one picture may be seen a dark robed figure, with light complexion, identified as Father Francisco Corsi, a Jesuit priest from Florence, who lived and worked for several years at the court of the Mughals, and, incidentally, acted as interpreter for Sir Thomas Roe. Some of the copies from miniatures of the West, which gave Jahangir such delight, have been preserved, including one of Lady Roe, the wife of the Ambassador, from the original by the English artist Oliver, the full story of which is well told in Roe’s *Embassy*. Among the lesser characters, whose reputations have lived longer than their masters’, may be noted the famous buffoon, Mullā-dū-piyāza, whose [Figure: LIV. Pheasant; painted probably by Mansur c. A.D. 1625 Collection of Baron Maurice Rothschild, Paris.]