Art History 207~~Fall 1998

Study Questions
Week 10


Paintings under Akbar, Jahangir, and Jahan

1. What are the distinctive characteristics of painting in the court of Akbar?

2. How do those characteristics become modified in the painting of the courts of Jahangir and Jahan?

3. What elements of style in early Mughal painting seem to be derived from Indian (i.e., Rajput) painting traditions?

4. In Mughal painting, what are the particular aspects of individuals which become emphasized in portrait painting?

5. What is the effect of the illuminated margin in Mughal paintings? What aspects of those margins create such an ornamental effect?

Sites of the Week :

    a) Delhi
    b) Sasaram
    c) Agra
    d) Fatehpur Sikri
    e) Karli
    f) Deogarh
    g) Bhuvaneshvar
    h) Aihole
    i) Mathura
    j) Bhaja

Further readings:

Crowe, Sylvia, et al. the Gardens of Mughul India: a history and a guide. London, Thames and Hudson, 1972.

Gascoigne, B.The great Moghuls.New York, Harper & Row [1971].

Parihar, Subhash, Mughal monuments in the Punjab and Haryana. New Delhi : Inter-India Publications, 1985, c1984.

Welch, Stuart Cary. India : art and culture, 1300-1900. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, c1985.

Archer, W. G. Visions of courtly India : the Archer collection of Pahari miniatures. Archer, W. G. Washington : Foundation, c1976.

Brown, Percy. Indian painting under the Mughals A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1750. New York : Hacker Art Books, 1975.

Topsfield, Andrew. An introduction to Indian court painting. Owings Mills, Md. : Stemmer House Publishers, c1984.

Beach, Milo Cleveland. Mughal and Rajput painting. Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Architecture and gardens under Jahangir and Jahan

1. Compare the Taj Mahal to the Tomb of Humayun: what elements are similar and which are very different, and how? Think about this question not only in relationship to the tomb buildings themselves, but also in reference to the tomb within the garden.

2. Taking just the Taj Mahal, what would you say are the distinctive aspects of Jahan's style in architecture?

3. Think about the Taj Mahal: how does the whole complex茆ateway, garden, mosque, guesthouse, tomb, and river趴ork together to create the experience of a 'paradise on earth'? How does the complex create the symbolism of the 'throne of God'?

4. On a personal level: which architectural style do you prefer, that of Akbar or that of Jahan? Be able to support your opinion by reference to specific buildings and details.

Sites of the Week :

    a) Agra
    b) Fatehpur Sikri
    c) Sanci
    d) Elephanta
    e) Ajanta
    f) Mamallapuram
    g) Tanjore
    h) Konarak
    i) Badami
    j) Khajuraho

Further readings:

Nou, Jean-Louis Taj Mahal. New York: Abbeville Press, 1993.

Qaisar, Ahsan Jan. Building construction in Mughal India : the evidence from painting. Delhi : Oxford University Press, 1988.

Archer, Catherine B. Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Nath, R. Calligraphic art in Mughal architecture. Calcutta : Iran Society, 1979.

Nath, R. History of Mughal architecture. New Delhi : Abhinav, 1982-

Lal, Kanwar. The Taj. New Delhi, R & K Pub. House [1968]

Begley, W. and Z. A. Desai, Taj Mahal : the illumined tomb : an anthology of seventeenth-century Mughal and European documentary sources. Cambridge, Mass. : Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture ; Seattle, Wash. : Distributed by the University of Washington Press, 1989.


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Web site created and maintained by Stephanie Struble for Professor Esther Jacobson,
"History of Indian Art" (ArH 207), Fall 1998, Department of Art History, University of Oregon.

Please send any comments or questions to: strubles@aaa.uoregon.edu