Miniature

Gracious strokes artfully done with a single haired brush, marks the detailing in the renowned Miniature paintings.

The genesis of the Mughal miniature painting is said to be one of the pivotal points of visual history of India. An extravagant and striking fusion of the Indian style, whose roots that go back to the 6^th and 7^th Centuries BCE, and the Safavid style of the Persian school gave birth to the Mughal School of miniature painting. Under the patronage of Mughal emperors like Akbar and Jahangir, miniature art became the primary mode of historical archiving. The visual splendour of courtly scenes, historic wars, secret trysts of lovers, tales from mythology, and much more were captured in detail by the many schools of miniature painting throughout India.

An intricacy so fine that the painting cannot be viewed alone with naked eyes and needs magnifying glass to view the details. The vibrancy of the paintings were brought out by natural colours from indigo, precious stones, shells, pearls, real gold and silver.

Towards the end of the 18^th century, Mughal miniatures started losing their sheen with the loss of genuine patrons for the delicate artform. Yet, till date the schools of miniature painting continue to pass the traditional skills on, with Rajasthan holding on strongly to the artistic legacy of the Mughal miniature paintings.