UPSC Prelims · General Studies

Ancient, medieval & culture

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Indian art and culture / Painting

Miniature painting: Pala, Jain, Sultanate and Mughal

Pala palm-leaf Prajnaparamita manuscripts (Nalanda, Vikramashila); Western Indian Jain Kalpasutra and Kalakacharya-katha
Sultanate painting: Nimatnama (Mandu), Laur Chanda, Chaurapanchasika group; Persian and indigenous blend
Humayun brings Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad; Akbar's tasvir khana: Hamzanama, Tutinama, Razmnama, Akbarnama (Daswant, Basawan, Miskin)
Jahangir shifts emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to albums (muraqqa) and individual portraits; naturalism; Ustad Mansur's birds and animals, Abul Hasan, Bishandas
Shah Jahan: Padshahnama, formal court scenes, gold; Aurangzeb's withdrawal of patronage and dispersal of artists
Deccani painting: Ahmadnagar, Bijapur (Ibrahim Adil Shah II, Nujum-ul-Ulum), Golconda; rich colour and Persian links

Where to study

ch. 7 The Making of Regional Cultures, Painting for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures (palm-leaf manuscripts, Jain manuscript painting), pp. 7-8 (printed 85-86)
ch. 7 The Making of Regional Cultures, Painting for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures (Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan), pp. 7-8 (printed 85-86)
ch. 7 The Making of Regional Cultures, Painting for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures (Jahangir), pp. 7-8 (printed 85-86)
ch. 7 The Making of Regional Cultures, Painting for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures (Shah Jahan; dispersal of artists), pp. 7-8 (printed 85-86)
ch. 7 The Making of Regional Cultures, Painting for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures (Mughal tastes and the regional courts of the Deccan), pp. 7-8 (printed 85-86)

Lesson 14 The Mughal Empire, Paintings (Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali, Daswant and Basawan), p. 55 (printed 51)
Lesson 14 The Mughal Empire, Paintings (Jahangir: portrait painting, Mansur), p. 55 (printed 51)
Lesson 14 The Mughal Empire, Music and Dance; Literature; Paintings (Padshah Namah illustrations), p. 55 (printed 51)