Imran Ahmed Siddiqui The origin of miniature art is attributed to the Umayyad doctors who had commissioned painters to develop illustrated training manuals for scientific explanations. Miniature illustrations were, inter alia, utilized to illustrate important romantic and emotional scenes as well as acts of war and peace in popular legends and stories such as Alf Laila wa Laila, Dastaan Amir Hamza and Qissa Yusuf Zulaikha. With the passage of time, miniature became an integral part of Persian and Turkic Islamic traditions. When Muslims arrived in areas now comprising Pakistan, miniature painters accompanied them as official illustrators and calligraphers. The manuscripts written during the reigns of various Turkic Sultans suggest the popularity of miniature art among Muslim elite of Pakistani territories although no miniature specimen survived from that era. It was under the great Mughals that this form of art saw development and growth like never before. It immensely benefitted from the practices and functions of institutions established by the Mughals along the lines of Timurid Kitabkhana (royal bookmaking workshop) that functioned as a royal design studio producing, among other designs, decorative objects as well as illustrated and illuminated manuscripts and albums (Muraqqa). Mughal Emperor Humayun had special interest in Persian miniature paintings produced in the Safavid Court. He imported the Persian influence to South Asia on his return from exile in 1555. Combined with new subjects, techniques and local aesthetics, this Persian influence produced a local style in later years. The reign of Emperor Akbar who succeeded Humayun was the finest period of Lahore. The local artists whom Akbar liberally patronized laid the foundation of the Mughal School of Art. Lahore remained the center of miniature art for the succeeding generations. The local artists made conscious efforts to liberate their art from formal mannerism which was the hallmark of Persian paintings. They used their skills to paint more realistic subjects ranging from opulent lifestyles inside the palaces of Mughal elite to the hardships of seers and saints in deserts and jungles, to horrors and miseries of wars. The ownership of an illuminated “Murraqa” (album) containing high-class miniature paintings was considered a mark of high culture and mannerism. The painters, therefore, received liberal patronage from the male and female members of the royal family, nobles, landed aristocracy and rich traders. Lahore's imperial atelier was known for some of the finest artists of South Asia. These artists completed illustrated manuscript of Jami's Baharistan around 1595. Emperor Jehangir and Empress Nur Jahan who are buried in Lahore, maintained a special relationship with the city. They owned an exquisite collection of miniature paintings done mainly in Lahore. The artists of Jehangir's period used lighter colors and finer brushwork techniques. Shah Jahan is considered as the most magnificent of all the Mughals when it comes to official patronage of arts and crafts including miniature paintings. The rise of British colonial power in South Asia after the death of Aurangzeb saw proportional decline of traditional art and crafts in Pakistani territories. Mughal-style miniature paintings were no exception. Throughout the 19th century, with official patronage local artists paid more attention to European salon and academic styles. Notwithstanding this neglect, Mughal-style miniature art continued to register a slow but steady revival in Lahore's ateliers in the late 19th century. Abdurrehaman Chughtai, the most vocal exponent of Mughal-style miniature art, not only revived old techniques but also stressed the importance of the art primarily for ensuring continuity of Muslim cultural traditions which, in later years, emerged as one of the most prominent feature of Muslim nationalism in South Asia. Chughtai had a strong sense of association with a rich transcendental culture. Behzad, the Mughal painter was his spiritual mentor. He viewed Lahore's Mughal art traditions in their historical context and underscored the importance of the Mughal culture as a parent Muslim culture for all local Muslim groups. Politically, his work conveyed the message of Muslim cultural unity in South Asia which, among other factors, led to the demand of a separate homeland i.e. Pakistan. Chughtai was revered and admired not only for his work, but also for his efforts to recover the Mughal art. However, there was a tendency among the early years' artists of Pakistan to treat Chughtai's work as an “exotica” to be admired and respected; not necessarily followed. They remained closely engaged with western styles and schools and modernism. There was visible reluctant to revisit what some critics characterized, “idealism and illustrative relationship with myth” associated with the Mughal art. However, since 1980s thanks largely to the efforts of art schools in Pakistan, the younger generation of Pakistani artists are turning to the Mughal art. This revival has connected and continues to connect the modern with the traditional. The continuity of tradition is, in fact, the most significant feature of Pakistani culture which is like an old living river that accepts varied streams but maintains its distinct course. It has the qualities of absorption, assimilation, acceptance and ability to synthesize. These qualities make Pakistani culture resilient, diverse and vibrant. In order to showcase the rich Mughal art traditions of Pakistan, the Consulate General of Pakistan, Jeddah is considering holding a workshop and an exhibition in Jeddah. Pakistan's famous miniature painters are expected to participate in the event.
