Daulat was an artist in the court of three Mughal emperors – Akbar (1565-1605 CE), Jahangir (1605-1627 CE) and Shah Jahan (1628-1658 CE). He is known to have been active from 1595 CE to around 1635 CE. Early on in his career, he was known to have produced works of royal themes and later switched to portraiture. He was a prominent artist in the imperial workshop and is credited with illustrations in several manuscripts.
Early life and influences
Daulat, also known as Muhammad Daulat or Dawlat, was a renowned artist of the Mughal imperial workshop, active from about 1595 CE onwards. Unfortunately, little information remains about his background, childhood and early life. However, evidence suggests that he was born into a family that was already associated with the Mughal court. His father, Lal, apparently served in the Mughal court and was probably an artist in the royal workshop. Daulat’s brother, Daud is also considered to be a painter, indicating that artistic training formed an important part of his early life and family environment. Daulat was therefore trained within the highly Mughal imperial workshop, and along with other young artists learnt drawing, colouring, portraiture, and manuscript illustration under other highly experienced artists. He was active as a painter by the mid-1590s during the reign of Emperor Akbar and was apparently influenced by the celebrated Mughal artist Basawan. His early training coincided with the period when Mughal painting was developing a distinctive synthesis of Persian artistic styles and indigenous Indian naturalism. Daulat’s early works mainly consisted of detailed narrative and manuscript illustrations. He is also noted to have contributed to important imperial works, such as the Akbarnama, Razmnama, Baburnama to name a few. This strong artistic foundation in his early years later helped him become particularly renowned as a portrait painter.
Themes
The artworks of Daulat are a reflection of the changing themes and artistic preferences of Mughal painting under Emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. In the early phase of his career, Daulat mainly worked on narrative and historical scenes for imperial manuscripts such as the Akbarnama, Razmnama and Baburnama. These paintings depicted battles, courtly events and episodes from literary and historical texts, which reflect the narrative themes of artworks that were popular during the reign of Akbar. There was a significant shift during the reign of Jahangir. During his reign, Daulat’s artworks started to comprise mainly of portraits. Interestingly, his paintings mainly depicted members of the imperial court as well as fellow artists from the imperial workshop. The carefully observed facial features and details in the artworks reflect Jahangir’s interest in naturalistic and expressive representations. Daulat is also known to have shown an interest in self-representation and produced self-portraits and incorporated his own image into album pages at the request of Jahangir. Another important theme in Daulat’s artworks was the world of the imperial atelier itself. His depictions of painters, calligraphers and artistic activity centered around the court are remarkable. In his later career, he became known for producing elaborate decorative borders and illuminations for Mughal albums. These margins consisted of floral motifs, human figures and scenes of artistic activity. Thus, Daulat’s artworks ranged from historical narrative to portraiture and decorative album art, which demonstrated his versatility and his close association with the refined artistic culture of the Mughal court.
Signature Works
Daulat’s artworks are a reflection of his remarkable versatility as a Mughal painter. His artworks range from manuscript illustration and portraiture to elaborate album decoration. Among his earliest important works were illustrations for imperial manuscripts such as the Akbarnama, Razmnama, and Baburnama, dated to the reign of Akbar. These works are evidence of his ability to produce complex narrative compositions with numerous figures in detailed and complicated settings. However, Daulat is renowned and remembered for his portraits and self-portraits that he produced under Emperor Jahangir. One of his most celebrated works is his self-portrait that is included in the margins of the Gulshan Album, dated to around 1610 at Jahangir’s request. The same album page also contains portraits of other fellow artists and members of the imperial workshop, including the celebrated painters Abu’l Hasan and Bishandas. These artworks are especially significant because they provide a rare visual record of the artists themselves and also show the growing recognition of individual painters in Mughal art. Another notable work is Daulat’s double portrait in the Khamsa of Nizami that was added around 1609–10 CE at Jahangir’s request. His later works include a finely produced portrait of Emperor Jahangir, dated to 1627 CE, and the highly ornate borders for imperial albums such as the Kevorkian Album. These signature works established Daulat as an important portraitist and artist of the Mughal court and imperial workshop.
Impact
Daulat’s legacy lies in his important contribution to various different styles and themes of Mughal painting across the reigns of Emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Throughout his career, he produced several artworks ranging from richly populated manuscript illustrations to highly individualised portraits and luxurious album paintings. Although he began with narrative illustrations, Daulat became particularly renowned for his contributions to portraiture. These were characterised by careful observation and rendering of facial features and individual identity. His portraits of fellow artists, including Abu’l Hasan and Bishandas, are especially valuable because they provide rare visual records of the artists working within the Mughal imperial atelier. Daulat also contributed to the growing recognition of the individual artists in the Mughal workshop. His self-portraits and signatures reveal his artistic self-consciousness, and the inclusion of his works in imperial albums reflect the esteem in which court painters were held. Of great significance is his work in the Gulshan Album as it brings together the elements of portraiture, artistic identity and the culture of the Mughal imperial workshop. His later works which include decorative borders in the various texts further contributed to the refinement of Mughal album art. It combined the art of floral ornamentation, gold work and delicate imagery. Thus, Daulat helped to shape the sophisticated aesthetic of seventeenth-century Mughal painting and remains an important figure for understanding the development of portraiture, artistic individuality and album culture in India.