The Mughal Emperors, like their other contemporary rulers of Asia and Europe, were always seeking ways and means to promote their image and display their wealth and glory. To achieve this, they employed historians to record their achievements, poets to compose poetry in their praise, musicians to play in order to entertain and refresh them, architects to build forts, palaces, pillars, and tombs to exhibit their splendour, and artists to immortalise them by drawing their portraits, important occurrences of their reign, and their daily routine of life. To make their darbar (centre) a centre of culture and refined taste, they invited the best and excellent musicians, architects and artists and patronized y lavishly awarding and bestowing high titles upon them. In the medieval period, the artists and other professionals had to rely on patronization of those who had resources and material means. The result of this reliance was that their art and creativity depended on their patron. They had to work on the commissioned task and found little space for their own expression. Therefore, this type of art that came from above and not from below had no or little relation with society and people. It fulfilled the motives and interest of the upper and elite classes only.

Babur and Humayun both had keen interest in paintings but could not get time to promote it. Akbar, who organized the department of painting and employed a number of artists to work in it, completed what remained unaccomplished by them. The result of his efforts was that soon a team of artists became ready to undertake the job that was commissioned by the emperor. Interestingly, most of these artists were young Hindus who were trained by the Iranian masters and subsequently became accomplished artists. Abul Fazl, writing in the A’ in on this department, comments:” Hence the art flourishes, and many painters have attained great reputation. The work of all painters are weekly laid before His Majesty by the daroghas and the clerks, he then confers rewards according to excellence of workmanship.”

Akbar, like other Muslim rulers, did not bother on the religious taboo of drawing human figures. It was justifies by Abul Fazl in the A’in:”I have to notice that the observing of the figures of objects and the making of likeness of them, which are often looked upon as an idle occupation, are, for a well regulated mind, a source of wisdom, and an antidote against the poison of ignorance. Bigoted followers of the letter of the law are hostile to the art of painting; but their eyes now see the truth.”

The development of the paintings at the Mughal court leads us to find some specific trends. For example, first of all we find that the Mughal emperors were very much conscious of history and proud of their ancestry. Therefore, the artists were commissioned to illustrate history books dealing with their family such as Chingiz Nama, Zafar Nama, Timur nama, and Babur nama. These illustrations linked them with the past and confirmed the continuity of their rule. The Mughals on one hand were proud on their relationship with Chingiz Khan, and on the other hand claimed to rule India on the basis of its conquest by Timur.Both Akbar and Jahangir were also conscious that their rule should find a dignified place in history. These feeling are reflected when Akbar nama, the history of Akbar’s reign and Tuzuzk-I-Janagiri were illustrated by the court painter. The attempt was made not only to preserve history in written forms but also construct it in illustrations to make it more lively and colourful.

The sense of continuity is fully reflected in one painting titled as “Shahan-I-Timuriya’( Kings of the Timurid family) in which Babur, Humayun, and Akabr are together enjoying the pleasant atmosphere of a garden. Later on, Jahangir and Shahjahan added their portraits and joined the company of their illustrious ancestors.

Secondly, the Mughals were also interested to keep their link with the sophisticated Persian culture. Therefore the classical Persian literature such Khamsa and Baharistan of Jami, Dastan-I-Amir Hamza, Haft paikar, and kalila wa Damna were illustrated to get inspiration from their texts that contain stories as well as moral lessons (akhlaq). The Mughals were also fond of Classical Hindu literature that was translated from Sanskrit into Persian. The epics of Rama’in and Mahabharat (Razm nama) were illustrated. These illustrations synthesised three cultures: the Mongols, Persian and Indian and integrated them into a new emerging culture which came to be known as the Mughal. . It based on tolerance and enlightenment.

The other important aspect of the Mughal painting is that they represent important historical as well as social and cultural events with full life and passions such as festivals, hunting expeditions, royal processions, royal fests, elephant fights, weighing ceremony, reception of ambassadors at the court, scenes of regular holding of court and its etiquette. Jahangir kept the team of artists along with him and whatever he found interesting asked them on the spot to paint. The result was that there are paintings of birds, animals, flowers, trees, beggars, singers and saints which give immense information about environment, ornithology, and life style of common people. 

Generally, the Mughal Emperors were fond to see them in a company of nobles and servants. In most of the painting they are surrounded by the courtiers. But they were also interested to draw their individual portraits. Jahangir was so fond of his portraits that he had a custom to give them to his favourites as gifts to put it in their turbons. The Mughal nobles, following this practice, commissioned the artists to draw their portraits with their gorgeous dresses and weapons. As a result of this interest, we have the portraits of leading Mughal nobles that help us to understand their role in the history. The treasure of the Mughal painting is the great source for historians to write social and cultural history of that period.

The art started to decline on the succession of Shahjahan who was more interested in architecture rather than painting. However, one of the positive results was that the art that was concentrated and confined to the darbar, now, scattered throughout the sub-continent and the artists wandered from one place to another in search of patron. Some of them migrated to the Deccan where they were welcomed by the states of Bijapur, Golkanda, and Bidar.In the 18^th century, when the Mughal dynasty declined, the artists in search of livelihood went to the court of Oudh and Nizam of Hyderabad.Some of them found lesser patron in the small towns which helped to promote the ‘Qasba culture’ which made small towns culturally rich and distinguished. Those who were not lucky, they established their shops at bazaars. This was important change. The artists, after loosing their royal patrons, turned to society for support. As bazaar artists, they performed two tasks: first, copy the paintings of old masters and sell them to the common people; and secondly, to make portraits of those who could afford their price. Still, these bazaar artists kept their skill and excellence as reported by French traveller Bernier, who visited India during Shahjahan’s reign, “I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of their paintings and miniatures, and was particularly struck with the exploits of Ekbar on a shield by a celebrated artist, who is said to have been seven years in completing the picture.”

The tradition of the bazaar artists continued up to the last days of the Mughal rule. People of Delhi found them at Chandni chok where they were sitting with their brushes and colour ready to draw a portrait of their clients. They also kept paintings on the themes of classical stories or natural scenes according to the taste of people. Their paintings now decorated the walls of common people. The art came down from above to below, accessable to ordinary men.

On the development of the Mughal art, the art critics say that the art reached to its height and excellence as long as the rulers or nobles patronized it. Once this patronization came to an end and the artists relied on society, the art declined. As the society neither had resources nor taste to patronize the artists, art consequently became cheap and vulgar. It lost its excellence and refinement. On reaching this conclusion, there comes a question: Do we need a darbar for the promotion of art and culture or do we need an educated and cultured society to patronize and promote art?