This illustration is from the Akbarnama, a book about the life of Emperor Akbar. It depicts his life in an epic style. It is a popular work in Indian art. The Emperor loved to work with artists, and employed more than 100 of them. Many of them were expert miniature painters, who also painted Hindu scriptures.
Abu’l-Fazl
Abu’l-Fazl’ image of Akbar, as it appears in the Akbarnama, depicts the emperor as a saint. Abu’l-Fazl was a Sufi and associated with Sufi traditions. His illustration in the Akbarnama is considered one of the finest depictions of Akbar in the Akbarnama.
The Akbar-nama is a collection of historical documents about the reign of Akbar. It was written by Abul-Fazl between 1590 and 1596. The Akbar-nama has been divided into three volumes. One of the volumes contains an illustration of the defeat of Hemu.
Abu’l-Fazl was a respected member of the Akbarnama’s court. He was personally involved in the activities of his studio, and he chose the subjects for the illustrations. Akbar was well-known for his passion for the story of Hamza, and Abu’l-Fazl records that he listened to Darbar Khan read Amir Hamza while choosing the subjects for his illustrations. The Hamza illustrations are renowned for their richness in adventure, warfare, and journeys to exotic locations.
Abu’l-Fazl grew up in Agra, the capital of the Mughal empire. His three-volume biography of Akbar captures the emperor’s milestone events and interactions with his court. He illustrated these events in his Akbarnama with unique manuscript paintings. The Akbarnama is a vital source for scholars, art historians, and Mughal art connoisseurs.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to judge Abu’l-Fazl’a style in this work. While he is unapproachable to Western eyes, he is an accomplished artist and a skilled military commander. The Akbarnama is his most famous work, composed between 1590 and 1596 and illustrated by 49 artists.
Abu’l-Fazl’ed’s illustration from the Akbarnama is a masterpiece of Mughal art. The Akbarnama is considered the most important text for Mughal court artists, and it provided the foundation for the development of Mughal painting under Jahangir. There are two major illustrated manuscripts of the Akbarnama, one of which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Victoria and Albert Museum has an illustrated manuscript that was written and illustrated between 1590 and 1595.
The Melbourne drawing is closer to the 1604 version of the Akbar-nama than the 1590s edition, displaying fewer examples of crowding and a better handling of space. Figures remain close to the picture plane, while the mounted figure of Akbar provides a point of stability to the composition. Despite the similarities between the two versions, the Melbourne illustration is more legible than its 1590 counterpart. It also preserves the key elements of the episode.
Patna Timur-nama
The Patna Timur-nama, also known as the Tarikh-e-Khandan-e-Timuriyah, is an important manuscript that details the life of Timur, the last Mughal Emperor. It was written during the reign of Akbar in the early 16th century and includes 338 folios and 133 illustrations and miniatures.
Its story was written in verse by the Persian poet ‘Abd-Allah Hatifi. It achieved immense popularity in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and many copies of it survive today, in the collections of the Walter Art Museum, Harvard Art Museum, Free Library of Philadelphia, and Asiatic Society of Bengal.
The Patna Timur-nama’s folio is a close relative of the Melbourne drawing. The two are similar in some ways, but the Patna copy emphasizes the unity of the left and right-hand folios. The Melbourne drawing preserves some of the key elements of the episode.
Another illustration from the Patna Timur-nami shows the life of an Indian schoolmaster and his pupils. It also shows the life of a maidservant, who works as a basket maker. The artist’s name, Kamal Kashmiri, is not known, but it is clear that he was a Kashmiri who had mastered Mughal styles.
The Library is home to an extensive collection of Persian manuscripts. A number of them were gifted to the Library by the founder of the Patna Library, Khuda Bakhsh. The collection was kept private until 1891, when the Library became public. This collection has since become an essential resource for researchers and scholars of East Asian history. It is also essential for the history of Patna.
Melbourne painting
In terms of composition and style, the Melbourne painting from the Akbarnama is closer to the 1604 version than the 1590s edition. It shows less tendency to crowd composition and more successful handling of space. The figures retreat into the landscape, while the mounted figure of Akbar remains central in the composition. The drawing is also more legible than the 1590 painting, which sacrifices some of its bedlam for clarity.
This painting dates from around 1556, and is from the early section of the Akbar-nama manuscript. It may even date from the lifetime of Akbar. Its size suggests that it was painted during his reign. However, it is not entirely clear when it was created. Although its artist’s name is largely obscured, its subject is a battle between Akbar and Muhammed Hussain Mizza.
The painting is one of the oldest examples of Mughal art in Melbourne. It is a large canvas, painted on cloth, and depicts the hero of the legend, Hamza. Hamza is surrounded by a conical canopy, and the scene is clearly at night. The lighting is evenly distributed, and the camels in the foreground are legible.
Hemu painting
The famous Akbarnama painting of the beheading of Hemu depicts the emperor Akbar at the second battle of Panipat in 1526 CE. The painting shows Akbar and Bairam Khan colluding to behead the Hindu leader and stack the heads of the defeated Hindu soldiers into a tower. The ‘halo’ on the painting clearly identifies the emperor as “Akbar”.
Abu’l-Fazl listed the Akbar-nama among the works he illustrated. The manuscript is now largely preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it is a good bet that the Hemu painting belongs to the Akbar-nama.
The Hemu painting from the Akbarnami represents a decisive battle that typifies the strength of Mughal painting during the late Akbari period. Although it retains the verticality of Persian paintings, it also responds to the need for recession and depicts the defeat of Hemu in a way that is very reminiscent of the Mughal style of painting. Besides, the finely-hatched figures in this painting also give it an enhanced intensity, and the walled city reminds us of the European contribution to Mughal painting.
While the Akbar-nama manuscript is not dated, it was discovered in the British Museum in 1966. Until that time, the manuscript was held in the collection of Akbar’s sons, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. After the war, the manuscript was bought by the South Kensington Museum, which later became the Victoria and Albert Museum. The paintings and illuminated frontispiece were framed and mounted for display.
The Hemu painting from the Akbarnam reflects Akbar’s interest in art. It shows the ruler as a brave and mighty warrior who controls nature. Moreover, the painting portrays the Mughal emperor on an elephant, which is a symbol of majesty and power. Akbar was also actively involved in the selection of subjects for the illustrations. The illustrations show a combination of adventure, warfare, and journeys to exotic locations.
