The Mughal emperors were fond of art and culture. They patronised painters, most of whom were Hindus. Due to their patronage, painting under Mughals got a new impetus and also developed into a specialised school of painting with its own distinctiveness.
The process started during the time of Akbar but reached greater heights during the time of Jahangir, when the Mughal empire had reached stability. Jahangir was interested in paintings and this led to greater flowering of Mughal painting during his reign. He had inherited some of the master painters from the reign of Akbar. The paintings during his reign became more innovative and distinct. It had by now shed its Persian influence and became Indo-Islamic in spirit. Jahangir’s personal interest in birds, animals and natural scenery led to new forms being experimented with.
Paintings in birds and animals were given greater emphasis. Ustad Mansur was an expert bird painter and his ‘falcon’ being very famous. Portrait painting became important and portraits of emperor, Sufi saints, relatives of royalty, and nobles increased. Paintings of human faces were ek-chashma (one-sided face). Nanha and Daulat were expert in portraiture. During this time, paintings in miniature started. Abul Hasan was expert in miniature painting.
The forms of paintings also reached greater maturity. As the painters received freedom of choice, the movement of figures assumed greater vibrancy. The paintings reflect ‘perspective’ (greater depth). The nature scenes of hunting shows dense foliage. Number of figures in a scene increase, with various faces, as if popping out in the canvas. The use of ‘Hashias’ (borders) began to be painted with designs - floral pattern & figures of human faces & plant motifs. There is vibrant use of gold and silver colours.
The manuscript paintings went out of fashion, and female figures are not found in paintings during his times. A big limitation of Mughal painting was that it continued to be a court art meant for royalty.