Victoria and Albert Museum, UK, Category- South & South East Asia Collection
Location History:
Originated in Mughal Royal Karkhanas(Workshops)
The given artwork is based on the Akbarnama (the official chronicle of the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar) written by court historian Abul Fazl. The painting was commissioned by Akbar to commemorate the flight of Mirza Sulayman from the Mughal Army in Kabul. Several Mirza's tried to legitimise their forward policy of conquests into Northern Indian by drawing historical claims on the area; on account of enjoying decency from Timur of Central Asia. This flashpoint for the mastery of Northern Indian led to a series of battles between Mughal forces and several Mirzas between the time period 1556- 1605. It is interesting to note that the term Mirza draws origin from the Persian word ‘Amirzadeh' meaning ‘born of the amir (Timur)’.
ThIs particular artwork has contributions of two legendary royal painters of the Mughal imperial atelier (karkhanas) namely Bhagwan and Madhav. While Madav drew the faces, most of the work was done by Bhagwan like making outlines and colouring. Bhagwan was a highly skilled, hindu painter who was also was a key contributor to the imperial series of paintaings based on the 'Ramayana' and 'Razmnama'.He often worked in collaboration with senior master painters like Miakina and Tulsi. The way Bhagwan has tried to illustrate the might of Mughal Army through the artwork, eventually shows his prowess at drawing dramatic scenes using opaque watercolours.
The historical fact that the artwork was painted by two royal court artists is extremely interesting, as the faces on the painting express the emotions in a human way, which allows the viewer to understand the narrative of the painting. In addition, the composition of the painting and the work by the second artist is beautifully made.
