ARTIST:
details / Emperor / Artist’s style / comments / resource
references / Accredited /signed paintings
Kanha / Akbar /
  • Specialist in animal painting
  • Worked on Baburnama
  • Designed “A family of elephants”
  • Collaborated with Ikhlas on works
/ PPP - 116 /
  • Designed “A family of elephants” p116 PPP

Ikhlas / Akbar /
  • Worked on Baburnama
  • Collaborated with Kanha on works
/ PPP - 116 /
  • Worked on “A family of elephants” p116 PPP, but only known for 1 other manuscript c.1595

Mansur
(Nadir al-Asr) / Jahangir & /
  • Natural history painter (highly specialized)
  • Given the title “Nadir al-Asr” (Wonder of the Age)
  • He stalked birds and animals in the field, where he and his subjects were more comfortable and behaved more naturally
  • Recorded the gestures & expressions of the animal world, as opposed to the humans world
/ TM - 21 /
  • “The Lion at Rest” ca.1585 (attributed) p10 TM
  • “Peafowl”
  • “Squirrels in a Plane Tree (with Nadir az-Zaman) p21 TM

Tara Kalan / Akbar /
  • Copied as a tinted drawing from an original by Basawan for the Akbarnama of c.1590
/ PPP -117 /
  • Emperor Akbar witnessing the battle of the yogis (ascribed falsely to Miskin) c.1604 p117 PPP

Sanwala / Akbar /
  • Not a star of Akbar’s court, but a dependable worker who contributed consistently to manuscripts
  • Rarely worked on his own
/ PPP- 118 /
  • Horse and Groom – c.1590 p118 PPP

Miskin / Akbar /
  • One of the stars of Akbar’s court – seen as the most inventive
  • Abu’l Fazl listed him among the famous painters of the day
  • Specialized in animal painting and natural history, painting with close observation and detail
/
  • (probably) “Krishna Lifts Mountain Govardhan” ca. 1590 p14 TM

Abd as-Samad / Humayun /
  • Safavid artist who agreed to join Humayan after his exile in Persia, and start up atelier in his new court
  • Trained and supervised artists & painters of talent recruited from within the land & from abroad.
  • As a Persian painter, approach was v.styalized and controlled including meticulous, decorative pattern and arabesques.
/ TM - 3 /
  • p8 TM

Mir Sayyid Ali / Humayun /
  • Safavid artist who agreed to join Humayan after his exile in Persia, and start up atelier in his new court
  • Trained and supervised artists & painters of talent recruited from within the land & from abroad.
  • As a Persian painter, approach was v.styalized and controlled including meticulous, decorative pattern and arabesques.
/ TM - 3 /
  • “The prophet Elias rescuing Nur Ad-Dahr from the sea.” Ca.1570 p6/7 TM
  • p8 TM

Basawan / Akbar /
  • Seen as one of the most gifted of Akbar’s court
  • He often returned to paintings he had outlined or designed, & enjoyed colouring parts that appealed to him
  • Recognised for liberated brushwork & innovation
  • Good at representing character and drama
  • Good at modelling & showing tactile form
  • Father to Monahar
  • Descrubed by Abu’;-Fazl, in A in-I Akbarias, “In designing and portrait painting and colouring and painting illusionistically and other aspects of this art [Basawan] became unrivalled in the world and many connoisseurs prefer him to Daswanth.”
/ TM -4-5
TM -13-15 /
  • “Akbar’s Adventures on his Elephant Hawa’I” p5 TM
  • p8 TM
  • “Tamarusa and Shapur at the Island of Nigar” p9 TM
  • “An Imperial Ram” p13 TM
  • “A Crisis at Court” p14 TM

Kesu Kalan /
  • “The Mast Elephant Citranand” – designed TM p6

Monahar / Akbar/ Jahangir /
  • Son of Basawan

Daswanth / Akbar /
  • Given the accolade “surpassed all painters and become the master of the age” by Abu’;-Fazl, in A in-I Akbari
  • A Hindu painter who started as a humble employee of the imperial atelier
  • Died suddenly in 1584, bringing a promising career abruptly to an end.
  • Belonged to the humble kahar cast (meaning litter-bearers)
/ TM 14 – 15
IMP 11-13
Bishndas / Jahangir /
  • Specialised in winding village spaces
  • Nephew of the artist Nanha
  • Served as an artist with Jahangir’s embassy to the court of Shah Abbas I
/ TM p20 /
  • “The Birth of Jahangir” – p17 TM
  • “Shaikh Phul in his Hermitage” c1610 p20 TM

Abu l-Hasan
(Nadiru-z-Zaman) / Jahangir /
  • left-handed
  • One of Jahagir’s favourites
  • Was “house-born” meaning that his talent was
  • nurtured by the court since childhood
  • honoured with the title Nadiru-z-Zaman (meaning the wonder of the age.)
  • Tells us much of the daily life and detail of the Mughal court, especially textiles, weapons, palaces etc
  • Son of well-known Iranian artist, Aqa-Rizi Jahangiri
  • The forefront of Jahangir’s artists
  • Could set his hand to most subjects etc
/ TM p18 /
  • “Emperor Jahangir at the Jharoka Window” ca.1620 p18 TM

Aqa-Riza Jahangiri / Jahangir /
  • father to Abu-L-Hasan.

Nanha / Jahangir /
  • uncle to the artist Bishndas