A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c20.s2.77

c20.s2.77

All critics, essentially, would admit that Indo-Persian art attained its highest achievements during the reign of the magnificent Shāhjahān (A.D. 1627-58), when the land enjoyed comparative peace, and a luxurious court offered liberal encouragement to all artists capable of ministering to its pleasure. The fierce scenes of bloodshed in which the earlier artists delighted were replaced by pageants of peaceful courtly splendour, the still aggressive colouring was toned down or dispensed with, and a general refinement of style and execution was cultivated. In the portraits of men and favourite animals a little shading executed by a few delicate strokes was dexterously introduced, sufficient to suggest solidity and roundness, and yet managed with such reserve that the Asiatic reliance on the power of line was not interfered with.