Which Mughal ruler established Karkhanas for painting? Ans. (*) Humayun had a painting workshop (Nigar-khana / Tasvir-khana) set up, which was connected to his library. Akbar established painting studios—at Agra from 1558 to 1572 AD, at Fatehpur Sikri from 1572 to 1585 AD, at Lahore from 1585 to 1601 Ad, and again at Agra from 1603 to 1605 AD. Notably, the Bihar Public Service Commission considered option (b) as the answer to this question in its official answer sheet. 2. Who illustrated “Dastan-e-Amir Hamza”? Ans. (*) Akbar got many books illustrated. Among them, the earliest is Dastan-e-Amir Hamza, or Hamzanama (Tutinama is also mentioned as the first book illustrated during Akbar’s reign). This work began to be illustrated during Humayun’s period and was completed during Akbar’s reign. It is also stated that its illustration started in Akbar’s reign in 1507 AD, not during Humayun’s period. It took about 15 years to prepare, and about fifty painters participated in its preparation—initially under the supervision of Mir Sayyid Ali and later under Abdus Samad. It contains around 1400 illustrations. This work describes the heroic exploits of Amir Hamza, the uncle of Prophet Muhammad. Hence, both options (a) and (c) are correct. 3. European paintings were introduced in the court of :

Question

CIVILSHUB IAS · Accepted Answer

Akbar. European painting entered Akbar’s court through the Portuguese, from whom Mughal painters adopted two special features— 1 - Depiction of a particular individual 2 - Making the objects shown in the front of the scene in a smaller size. The development of painting began during Humayun’s reign. In Akbar’s reign, European painting influenced the Mughal painting style. In Akbar’s court, Miskin was a painter of the European style. During Akbar’s time, Daswanth was a leading painter. Jahangir’s reign is called the Golden Age (Golden Period) of Mughal painting.

Explanation