Mughal painting, which contributed immensely to the annals of Indian art history, had become full-fledged under the patronage of King Akbar (r. 1556–1605) in the third quarter of the 16th century, and continued uninterruptedly during the reign of his successors till the late 18th century. However, the foundation for the tradition was laid by Akbar’s grandfather and father, Babur (r. 1525-1530) and Humayun (r. 1530–40 and 1555–1556) respectively. Both had a keen interest in painting, and interacted with many Persian masters and observed their works.
In the 15–16th centuries, in Herat (Afghanistan), Sultan Husayn Bayqara Mirza (r. 1469-1506) had patronised a number of calligraphers and painters. Besides many others, Kamal ud-Din Bihzad (c. 1450-1535), the most renowned name in the history of Persian miniature painting, was his court painter. After the Sultan’s reign, Bihzad seems to have shifted to Bukhara (Uzbekistan) first, and then in 1522 to Tabriz (Iran), which was ruled by Shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) and his son and successor, Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524–1576).
Babur lived in Herat in 1506, and later in the Babur-nama written in Turkish, he had written about paintings done by Shah Muzaffar, who died early in life, and Bihzad. About the latter, Babur wrote, “Of the painters, one was Bihzad. His work was very dainty but he did not draw beardless faces well; he used greatly to lengthen the double chin; bearded faces he drew admirably.” Babur’s cousin Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat (c. 1500–1551), who ruled Kashmir, had written about the Herat painters more candidly in his Persian book, the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. He said, for instance, “Abd al-Hayy is unravelled in purity, delicacy and firmness of brush, indeed in all the characteristics of the art of painting. (Then) came Shah Muzaffar and Bihzad, and after these up to our own times, there has been none like them.”
Humayun succeeded his father in 1530, but was dethroned in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri (fl. 1486–1545). In 1543, Humayun lived in Tabriz, and acquainted himself with many painters and their works. The most notable were Abd al-Samad (c. 1500–1593) who worked initially as a calligrapher; Mir Sayyid Ali (c. 1510–1572), the son of painter Mir Musavvir (fl. 1510–55); Mirza Ali (fl. 1525–75), the son of painter Sultan Muhammad; and, Muzaffar Ali (fl. 1540–76), the son of painter Haydar Ali and a grandnephew of Bihzad.
In the Jawaher al-akbaar (c. 16th century) in Persian, author Budaq Monsi Qazvini mentions that Humayun had stated that if the Tabriz king “releases Mir Musavvir to me, I shall offer one thousand tumaans in exchange”, and adds further, “It is thus that the Mir’s son, who had become better than his father, went earlier to India, and the father followed him there.” In the Tadhkira-i Humayun Wa Akbar written in Persian by Bayazid Bayat, a subordinate of Humayun, the author states that Humayun had sent a farman (royal decree) in 1546–47 from his temporary capital in Kabul (Afghanistan) to the king of Tabriz, and requested him to send the two Tabriz painters. Accordingly, Abd al-Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali, and a third, Mulla Fakhr, a bookbinder, came to Kabul and “humbly presented themselves before His Majesty, who honoured them with many favours”. The author states further that in 1553, Humayun had sent some gifts to his friend, Nawab Rashid Khan of Kashghar (China), along with a letter in which he wrote, “Another (of the gifted artists with us) is the painter Abd al-Samad, the farid al-dhar (the unique of the time), the shirin-qalam (sweet pen), who has surpassed his contemporaries.”
Abd al-Samad had taught drawing and painting to Akbar and most likely to Humayun as well. In 1555, Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali came to Delhi along with Humayun, who died seven months later. Both the painters shone later on in the court of Akbar.
Humayun’s step-sister, Gulbadan Begum (c. 1523–1603), in the Humayun-nama in Persian, mentions many manuscripts and albums that were on display in a festival in Agra. According to the Tezkerh al Vakiaat (Private Memoirs) in Persian written by Jouher, a trusted assistant of Humayun, a tent was placed for the ruler at Amerkote (near River Sindhu, Pakistan) and then, “…a beautiful bird flew into the tent, the doors of which were immediately closed, and the bird caught; his Majesty then took a pair of scissors and cut some of the feathers off the animal; he then sent for a painter, and had a picture taken of the bird, and afterwards ordered it to be released.”
How I wish that Jouher had mentioned the painter as well as the bird by name. Nevertheless, it is extremely interesting to note that Humayun had commissioned a separate painting that shows the life study of a bird. Akbar’s son, Jahangir (r. 1605–1627), surely inherited his grandfather’s taste in this regard; for, under his patronage many Mughal painters produced several paintings of wild animals and birds, at times along with their caretakers. No such life studies of wild beings were known to have been commissioned by Akbar, and the bird painting done for Humayun, to the best of my knowledge, has not come to light so far.
Associate Professor in Art History and Aesthetics, Department of Fine Arts, Andhra University