A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c20.s3.16

c20.s3.16

The special glory of the Indo-Persian school, distinguishing it above all other schools of Asiatic art, is its high attainment in portraiture. The artists, whether Hindu or Muslim by birth, freed themselves completely from the Hindu disinclination to or aversion from realistic likenesses, and produced scores of portraits, some mere sketches, others highly-finished pictures, which may fairly claim to rank as the equals in merit to the finest European miniatures, although utterly different in technique. M. Blochet justly describes the best Indo-Persian portraits as ‘genuine marvels’ and ‘inimitable models’. Compared with European oil paintings they are always small in scale, often tiny, and seldom more than a few inches square. The illustrations in this chapter and in Mr. Havell’s book dispense with the necessity for elaborate descriptive criticism. Anybody can perceive the high quality of the choicest examples, and agree in appreciating their accurate drawing, harmonious colouring, and truthfulness of expression.