How Akbar Defined Mughal Painting

When Akbar took the throne in 1556, he didn’t just get his father’s territory. He also got handed down Humayun’s atelier of court painters. This is how Akbar’s reign changed, shaped, and defined the century’s Mughal School of Painting.

From Akbarnama via Wikimedia Commons

Parrot addressing Khojasta in Tutinama, Freer Gallery of Art, via Wikimedia Commons

Folio from Hamzanama via Wikimedia Commons

Tutinama: Tales of a Parrot

One major work undertaken during Akbar’s rule was the Tutinama, or Tales of a Parrot. While this 14th-century series of 52 stories were popular, their illustrations are known because a manuscript version containing 250 miniature paintings was commissioned by Akbar.

In this portfolio, illustrations were made for stories narrated by a pet parrot to charm its owner’s wife, Khujasta.

Over successive nights, the parrot hoped these stories would stop Khujasta from embarking on an adulterous affair. The Tutinama paintings are also a brilliant example of animal fables which were gaining popularity at the time. Some believe these paintings also had a more functional element and acted as a sort of moral guide for Akbar’s harem.

Hamza-nama: The Epic Of Hamza

Other than the Tuti-nama, the impressive Hamza-nama was also finished during Akbar's rule. In these stories, Hamza, a Muslim hero, would fight enemies of Islam; witches, demons, and even the supernatural. Although they were traditionally acted out in dastan performances, Akbar's patronage led to an illustrated account of theological history.

Ambitious from the start, the Hamza-nama was worked on by several artists from Akbar’s workshop. By the end, the disparate styles of his artists, some from Iran and others from different regions in India, all coalesced into one unified style.

Full of life and dynamism, this became a defining moment of break, where the evolution of Persian miniatures into a distinct Mughal style can be seen on canvas.

However, this wasn’t the final destination for Mughal painting. Akbar’s son, Jahangir, and his grandson Shah Jahan would also add significantly to this artform. But the changes that made their way into miniatures under Akbar are still a defining point of turn and an indisputable love letter to the empire’s golden age.

As a king, Akbar was known to frequent the royal atelier. When here, he would visit, admire, and even reward painters if he took a liking to their work. One of his father’s painters, Abd al-Samad, even trained the young Akbar, which might explain the emperor’s life-long admiration for these miniatures.

When this style of painting was first brought to the Indian subcontinent, it was still a Persian import, not something the empire could fully call its own. But in the long reign that followed, Akbar’s decisions and politics would transform these miniatures, giving them a strong Mughal identity.

An Art Connoisseur

One of the reasons behind this was Akbar’s close personal interest in paintings. In records written by his grand vizier, Abu’l-Fazl, he described how Akbar was closely involved with his atelier:

“His Majesty looks deeply into the matter of raw materials and sets a high value on the quality of production. As a result, colouring has gained a new beauty, […] delicacy of work, clarity of line, and boldness of execution […] have reached perfection, and inanimate objects appear to come alive.”

During his reign, several illustrations were patronised to go along with manuscripts, stories, and literature. In the royal library, several books bound with beautifully illustrated pictures were housed for the king. Some historians even believe that Akbar might have been dyslexic, possibly explaining the emphasis on visual language during his rule.

Akbar’s Cosmopolitan Court

Under Akbar, new kingdoms were conquered under the Mughal empire. While his expansion did bring more land, this policy also brought an influx of artists from different places. As these tradesmen entered Akbar’s atelier staff, their backgrounds, styles, and traditions soon began to influence Mughal painting.

Moreover, Akbar also forbade persecution based on faith, making his reign flourish as an era of religious tolerance. As a result, Hindu imagery made its way into the Persian and Islamic forms, blending into the distinctive Mughal style known today.