Page 19 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

16 ART AND CRAFTS

Mughal art was completely secular from the point of subject-matter and character.
Prior to the Mughal age the works of classical art produced in India under Hindu and
Buddhist supervision were specifically related to religion. The greatest significance of
Mughal painting is that in the painting heritage of this country which was driven to
give form to an absolute truth inspired by the imagination, the Mughals started a
parallel stream which was temporal and secular in nature. 19
During the last stage of Mughal rule the Mughal style of painting was cut off from the
center and its characteristic trait was in an excessive interest in sensual themes and
extreme sentimentality. At this stage the sweetness of the pure smooth line of the
paintings of the Mughal style diminished, color schemes and compositional balance
deteriorated considerably.
During the zenith of Mughal art the central influence prevailed absolutely in the art
practice of the provincial capitals of the vast Mughal Empire. Basically the artistic
styles of the provincial capitals were nearly completely dependent on the central
artistic style. When Mughal rule ended in Delhi the local styles were cut off from the
center and this made them lose their sense of direction. Of course, at a later stage the
art of a number of provinces won recognition as local regional styles by establishing
their own separate identity. As the change of the quality of the artistic environment
especially influence the form of art, so various regional Mughal styles could manifest
themselves as independent styles by acquiring distinctive local characteristics. Such
noteworthy regional Mughal styles of the last part of the eighteenth century are the
Murshidabad, Patna and Lukhnow styles.
During the age of decline of the Mughal Empire in the mid eighteenth century the
Murshidabad style of painting found expression as a regional Mughal style with
distinctive characteristics. During the reign of the de facto independent ruler of
Bengal, Nawab Alivardi Khan (1740-56 AD) quite a number of artists of the central
Mughal School came to the royal court of Murshidabad. These artists made it their
place of residence. The artist Dhaniram, a descendant of the artist community from
Rajputana which had been engaged in the royal court of Delhi since the 16th century,
took shelter at Baluchak on the bank of the Bhagirathi river of Murshidabad. 20
Murshidabad had been a place of importance even before Murshid Quli Khan
established it as the capital of the province of Bengal. This town was founded near
Karnasuvarna, the ancient capital of Bengal on the bank of the river Bhagirathi. In
fact, Murshidabad was the center of both the last stage of Mughal rule in India and
also the beginning of the British colonial era.
The local Mughal administrators of Murshidabad inevitably glorified the central
culture of Delhi. Through that connection the Mughal artistic style of Delhi arrived
here. But in the context of the local ruling authorities enjoying greater independence
due to the decline of the central rule, the environment was prepared for the rebirth of
local culture. As a result, the painting of Murshidabad evinces a combination of the
central Mughal painting style and the local traditional style.