Who among the following Mughal Emperors shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to album and individual portrait?
- A.Humayun
- B.Akbar
- C.Jahangir
- D.Shah Jahan
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Jahangir. Under Jahangir, Mughal painting moved away from large illustrated manuscripts towards single paintings, portraits and nature studies collected in albums (muraqqa).
Jahangir (ruled 1605–1627) was a keen connoisseur who claimed he could name the painter of each face in a group work. He preferred refined, realistic single pictures to the crowded narrative manuscripts of his father's time, and his court artists produced portraits, durbar scenes and studies of birds, animals and flowers that were mounted in albums. Ustad Mansur painted birds and animals such as the Siberian crane and the zebra, and Abul Hasan, titled Nadir-uz-Zaman, and Bishandas were known for portraits. The halo behind the emperor's head became common in this period.
A is wrong: Humayun brought the Persian masters Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad to India, laying the foundation.
B is wrong: Akbar's studio produced illustrated manuscripts such as the Hamzanama and the Razmnama.
D is wrong: under Shah Jahan painting became formal and ornate, and the stress shifted to architecture.
Exam tip: Akbar = manuscripts (Hamzanama); Jahangir = albums, portraits and Ustad Mansur's nature studies, the peak of Mughal painting.
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