Miniature Painting in Contemporary South Asian Art Team 2: Ayesha, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Miniature Painting in Contemporary South Asian Art Team 2: Ayesha, Gerald, Jade, Jia Xian, Kaie

Content - History of Mughal Empire - Timeline - Thesis - Traditional Mughal Paintings - Contemporary Miniature Paintings - Comparison - Conclusion

History Of Mughal Empire Background, Context, Impact of Colonization 3

Contemporary The origins of South Asian miniature art can be traced back to eleventh and twelfth century India. The earliest examples of miniature painting are the illustrated Buddhist manuscripts of the Palas from eastern India and the Jainist texts from western India. During the fifteenth century, influences from Persian painting started to appear in western Indian manuscripts, such as the use of ultra-marine blue and gold colours. “https://www.guggenheim.org/arts-curriculum/resource-unit/no-country-contemporary-art-for-south-and-southeast-asia” http://artradarjournal.com/2013/12/08/what-is-contemporary-miniature-art-art-radar-explains/ Maybe we can do a short comparison between ancient and contemporary miniature painting Explore influences in 21st century art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzTbYkp_FRg https://teachartwiki.wikispaces.com/Mughal+and+Rajput+Painting+16th-18th+Century https://prezi.com/gzmm2gz1ygvv/miniature-painting-in-the-middle-east-south-asia/ http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/07/entertainment/la-et-pakistan-miniatures7-2010apr07

Hi Sujatha, Sorry for the lack of context. The team was discussing that, in the modern context, how and what separates miniature paintings from the authentic traditional “miniature paintings” seen in the Mughal Empire compared to the Contemporary and modern Mughal Art. So we researched on Contemporary Miniature Paintings in the recent century and most of them seem to follow economic reasons for its practical size as compared to the large-scale mural paintings. Thus, our team’s thesis dwells on the fact that through time, Miniature Paintings has changed its art style due to its patrons and/or lack thereof.

Hi Sujatha, Sorry for the lack of context. The team was discussing that, in the modern context, how and what separates miniature paintings from the authentic traditional “miniature paintings” seen in the Mughal Empire compared to the Contemporary and modern Mughal Art. We were comparing how it has evolved over time through Function, Art Style, Motifs and Expression. This is affected by the backing of an emperor in the traditional period and the subsequent lack of one in the Contemporary period; Function/ Expression: Traditional Mughal Miniature Paintings document how the emperor ruled and artists creativity were bound to the ruler’s expectations VS Contemporary Miniature Paintings has evolved into more liberal, interpretive and abstract pieces due to artists not being bound to the standards of an emperor (decline of a monarch); and thus has become more commercialized and less personal. Art Style/ Motifs: Traditional Mughal Miniature Paintings depict the influences from their time ( Persian motifs, from Pala empire, and incorporations of Jesuit MIssionaries after visit to india). Paintings were flat and lack perspective. VS Contemporary MIniature Paintings show artists used select motifs from Mughal period with ‘arches’ and/ or calligraphy along with a flat style of painting. They are also influenced by art European art movements like cubism, expressionism and naturalism. Form/ Size: Traditional Mughal Miniature Paintings are small so it is to be kept intimately for the Emperor whereas VS Contemporary Miniature Paintings are now a commercial gimmick and doesn’t really have a meaning/reason behind the form of it being “miniature” Thus, our team’s thesis dwells on the fact that “through time, Miniature Paintings has changed its art style due to its patrons and/or lack thereof.”

Context for Thesis Idea - Thesis: Miniature Paintings have evolved over time with respect to Function, Art Style, Motifs and Expression and the primary reason is the backing of an emperor in the traditional period and the subsequent lack of one in the Contemporary period. Argument for Thesis - 1. Function/Expression: The primary function of Miniature paintings in the Mughal period were to document the accounts of the emperor’s rule in the form of autobiographical books like the ‘Akbarnama’ with collections of miniature paintings. These served to reflect the life of the Ruler in court and dominantly represented the ideals of the ruler, more than the artist himself. There was artistic freedom, but the artist was still bound to the ruler’s expectations since the paintings were made for him. In contemporary paintings, with the decline of a monarch or empire, the function of the miniature paintings has evolved since there is no patron to set any guidelines. Hence the form of art has evolved into a more liberal, interpretative and abstract piece since the artists have more freedom to choose their motifs and are not bound by any standards of the Emperor. This however has led to paintings becoming more commercialized and less personal since they were created with the purpose of being put on the market. 2.

2. Art Style/Motifs: In the Mughal period, Miniature paintings dominantly depicted Persian motifs with some influences from the Pala empire and later incorporated motifs of Jesuit Missionaries after their visit to India. The style was very flat with layers, and lacked perspective. Most of the miniature paintings were similar, and showed figures in court, animals, flowers, gardens, general life in court activities. Christian imagery and western style was later incorporated for a secular and more inclusive outlook In the Contemporary paintings, artists used select motifs from the Mughal period like ‘arches’ or calligraphy, and also the flat style of painting. However, through the years, their paintings have also been influenced by art movements like cubism, expressionism and naturalism. [Enter Kaie’s examples] So its highly interpretive. 3. Form/Size/Medium: Earlier, the purpose of keeping it small was specifically to keep it intimate for the Emperor and make it suitable to compile in the form of a book. Now, its probably just a commercial gimmick or a budget choice. There is no real meaning/reason behind the form of it being ‘miniature’.....(Oh wait, if its small it can be personal to the buyer so...umm..idk?)

Timeline

THESIS : Throughout time, the purpose of Miniature Paintings has evolved

Traditional Mughal Paintings - ( you can feel free to replace the photos !!) 11

Ayesha’s notes: ● Relationship between Mughal Empire and Portugese India - Harmonious integration of Christianity and Islam in Art - A new Secular surge? ● Mughal Royal Lineage - > Babur ->Humayun->Akbar->Jehangir->Shahjahan->Aurangzeb ● Mughal Empire started with Babur but he didn’t do jack for Miniature Paintings - All started with Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. ● Babur’s Reign - Famous for lavish architecture, mughal gardens - walled spaces filled with flowers, pools, birds, and shaded walkways. ● Humayun - went on military exile and learned to paint. In 1551 brought 2 Persian painters, Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad, back to India. ● Akbar loved cultural art - paid close attention to output of artwork. Jehangir and Shahjahan followed suit. Jehangir got too western. ● By the time of Shah Alam II (1759–1806), the art of Mughal painting had lost its glory. By that time, other schools of Indian painting had developed, -> Rajput kingdoms of Rajputana, Rajput painting and in the cities ruled by the British East India Company, the Company style under Western influence. Late Mughal style often shows increased use of perspective and recession under Western influence.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_painting ● Akbar and Jehangir dealt with the Mughal Empire differently - very inspired by Western Art and after 1580, profound influence of western art seen not only in Islamic paintings, but in places of worship like Durgahs -> What does this imply?how was it perceived by muslims? ● Artists - Mughal painting flourished in late 16th and early 17th centuries by master artists such as Basawan, Lal, Daswanth,[13] and Miskin. ● Another influence on the evolution of style during Akbar's reign was Kesu Das, who understood and developed "European techniques of rendering space and volume".[14] ● Govardhan was a noted painter during the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Mughal painting generally involved a group of artists, one to decide the composition, the second to actually paint, and the third to focus on portraiture, executing individual faces.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_painting#Artists ● Actual Size of these miniatures ? - Mughal miniatures were small (many not more than a few square inches) , brightly colored, and highly detailed paintings mostly used to illustrate manuscripts and art books. Despite their tiny sizes, they are incredibly precise, with some lines painted using brushes composed of a single hair . Prince with a Falcon (1600–05), for instance, is roughly 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide, but manages to trace the titular bird’s every feather; the wisps of the prince’s hair; and an entire menagerie of fluttering birds and hunting lions decorating his tunic. These miniatures valued color and extreme detail over shading and realistic perspective, giving figures a static appearance, frozen in positions that emphasize their two-dimensionality. ●