Indian Painting under the Mughals, A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750 c21.5

c21.5

Such an experience only whetted the Mughal emperor’s desire for the productions of the West, and he soon began to cast about for other methods of securing what he coveted. Whether Akbar, in professing an interest in Christianity, was in earnest, or merely using religion as a means to an end, will never be known; but that he favoured it at one time in order to get into closer touch with the Europeans in India, and learn from them as much as possible about Western culture, is quite clear. As a preliminary step in this direction in 1579 he invited to his court at Fathpur Sikri a Jesuit mission from Goa, which arrived there in the following year. The experiences of the three priests who made up the party at the Mughal capital, where they remained for some three years, is a fascinating narrative, most of which lies outside the subject of painting. It was, however, through their presence that Akbar made his first acquaintance with European pictures. As soon as the mission was established at Fathpur Sikri,