Medieval Painting Traditions

2.1 Mughal Miniature Painting

• Developed as a distinct court art form under Mughal patronage, blending Persian miniature painting traditions (brought by artists accompanying Humayun's return from Persian exile, notably Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad) with indigenous Indian stylistic elements and subject matter.
• Akbar's period: Establishment of a large royal atelier (karkhana); commissioned grand illustrated manuscripts, most famously the Hamzanama (a vast illustrated compilation of the legendary adventures of Amir Hamza, involving hundreds of large-format paintings); also illustrated versions of the Akbarnama and Persian classics.
• Jahangir's period: Regarded as the artistic peak of Mughal painting, especially for naturalistic studies of flora, fauna, and portraiture — court painter Ustad Mansur is particularly celebrated for detailed studies of birds and animals (e.g., the Siberian crane, the dodo, tulips).
• Shah Jahan's period: Painting became somewhat more formal and static, often emphasising grand durbar (court) scenes, portraiture, and architectural settings.
• Aurangzeb's period: Court patronage for painting declined sharply due to his more austere religious orientation, leading many artists to disperse to regional (Rajput/provincial) courts, which paradoxically enriched regional painting traditions.

2.2 Rajput (Rajasthani) Miniature Painting

• Developed at various Rajput princely courts from around the 16th–17th century onward, often blending indigenous folk/temple traditions with elements absorbed from Mughal painting (especially after the Mughal court artist diaspora under Aurangzeb).
• Distinct regional schools/sub-styles:
• Mewar School (Udaipur): Bold colours, vigorous, direct emotional expression; notable master Sahibdin.
• Bundi-Kota School: Known for lush landscape depictions, hunting scenes, and vivid use of colour.
• Kishangarh School: Famous for the iconic "Bani Thani" painting (often called the "Indian Mona Lisa"), attributed to painter Nihal Chand, depicting an idealised, elongated facial beauty type associated with Radha.
• Jaipur (Amber) School: More directly Mughal-influenced in its formal court style.
• Common themes: Ragamala paintings (visualising the moods/emotions of musical ragas as pictorial scenes), Krishna Leela/Radha-Krishna romance, court and hunting scenes, portraiture.

2.3 Pahari (Hill) Miniature Painting

• Developed in the Himalayan foothill kingdoms of present-day Himachal Pradesh and Jammu region from the 17th–19th centuries.
• Basohli School: Bold, vivid colours (notably use of beetle-wing iridescence to represent jewellery), strong, dramatic facial expression.
• Kangra School: The most refined and lyrical of the Pahari styles, flourishing especially in the late 18th century under Raja Sansar Chand; known for delicate, soft colour palettes, graceful figures, and lyrical romantic themes, especially depictions of the Radha-Krishna story (notably inspired by Jayadeva's Gita Govinda) and the Bihari Satsai.
• Guler School: A precursor/related style to Kangra, sometimes considered the source of the refined Kangra idiom.

2.4 Deccan Painting

• Developed at the Deccan Sultanate courts (Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmadnagar) from the 16th–17th centuries, showing rich colour, a distinctive blend of Persian, Turkish, and indigenous Deccani elements, and often a more lush, decorative, imaginative quality than contemporary Mughal painting — Bijapur's Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a notable patron.