Scenes from a Mughal studio

The Mughal school of painting has always captivated art lovers of every hue. This book, with its luminous coloured reproductions, is a collector’s delight. It is fascinating in its detail, interesting in its anecdotes, and arresting in its treatment of the subject.

Unlike a typical coffee table book, replete only with the pictorial, this volume takes a rigorous look at the Mughal school. The author, a professor of history at Aligarh Muslim University, has constructed a linear history of Mughal art.

The book discusses in detail the importance of the atelier as the centre of activity for the Mughal style of painting. The Mughals did not give up on the atelier even during the most difficult of circumstances. For instance, when Humayun was a refugee in the Sindh desert, he still had with him a group of artists with an atelier at Amarkot. Thus, the mughal atelier was a fixture even at the empire’s lowest ebb.

There is a similar detailed look at the famed Dara Sukoh album, which, like most Mughal art, is in foreign hands today. The most striking of these paintings are the ones representative of the narrative art style within the Mughal school.

The royal hunt, the Mughal gardens or the meeting between the princes (in the royal court) who would be kings are captured with grace and elegance. The medium of gouache on paper allows for rare detail on this score.

Of particular interest is a series on the royal hunt, which depict Emperor Akbar’s famed hunting expeditions in splendid detail. Indeed, the theme of wildlife and outdoors is central to the art of the period and portraits of falcons, and other birds and game abound.

The book addresses the difficult question regarding the absence of erotic art in the Mughal school. Love, as the book says, was low key for the Mughal. There was little by the way of the erotic depicted in the 16th century and 17th century. However, by the 18th century, specifically during the reign of Mohammad Shah “Rangella”, the erotic, and indeed, even the sexual do make an appearance.

The book rounds off with an interesting look at the influence of European renaissance art on the Mughal school. It also takes a close look at the influence that the Mughal school of painting had on European art — specifically the works of Rembrandt. For students of art history and laypersons alike, this sumptuous coffee table book offers a detailed look at one of the greatest schools of art born of a particular cultural milieu.