Knowra Indian miniature painting Indian miniature painting Indian miniature painting is a tradition of small-format painting made in South Asian courts and workshops, often on paper or as illustrated manuscripts. Its styles developed through regional patronage and exchanges among Persian, Central Asian, and South Asian artists.
Wasli : Wasli is a layered, burnished paper used as a support for miniature painting in South Asia. Its smooth, prepared surface suited the fine lines and layered pigments of court painting.
Delhi Sultanate : The Delhi Sultanate was a succession of Muslim dynasties that ruled parts of northern India from 1206 to 1526. Its courts and connections with Persianate culture preceded the major Mughal painting ateliers.
Mughal imperial workshop : The Mughal imperial workshop was the court atelier where artists created manuscripts, albums, and paintings for Mughal rulers. Its coordinated work explains how complex court commissions could be completed by teams.
Company painting : Company painting is a South Asian art style made for European patrons, especially employees of the East India Company, from the eighteenth century. Its colonial patrons and hybrid methods differ from the earlier court systems that sustained miniatures.
Razmnama : The Razmnama is a Persian translation of the Sanskrit Mahabharata commissioned by Akbar and produced in the late sixteenth century. Its illustrated pages show how Mughal painting interpreted South Asian epic literature.
Gouache : Gouache is an opaque water-based paint made from pigment, binder, and often an inert white extender. Opaque color enabled the precise, flat areas characteristic of many miniatures.
Humayun : Humayun was the second Mughal emperor, ruling from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to 1556. His exile in Persia brought court painters and Persianate artistic models into Mughal service.
Ustad Mansur : Ustad Mansur was a Mughal court painter renowned for naturalistic depictions of animals and plants. His precise observation exemplifies the natural-history strand of Mughal painting.
Kalighat painting : Kalighat painting is a nineteenth-century urban painting tradition that grew around the Kalighat temple in Kolkata. Its bold, rapidly executed images contrast with the fine detailing and courtly settings of miniatures.
Akbarnama : The Akbarnama is Abu'l-Fazl's chronicle of Akbar's reign, produced in the Mughal court in the late sixteenth century. Its images turn imperial history into a carefully staged visual account of rulership.
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