Deccani Schools of Painting

Deccani Schools of Painting: Overview

• Deccani Painting history spans from the late 16th century until the 1680s, when the Mughals conquered the Deccan
• It continued into the 19th century under the Asafiya dynasty and in provincial courts of Rajas and Nawabs in the State of Hyderabad under the Nizam
• Deccani painting was influenced by Indo-Persian art and considered to have Middle Eastern, Safavid, Persian, Turkish, and Mughal origins
• It was sustained by rulers with unique political and cultural visions, who hired artists and commissioned works to enhance their artistic sensibilities and governance

Art Characteristics

• Portraiture and representation of historical and religious figures are common, similar to the Safavid and Ottoman Schools of Painting
• The documentary nature of portraits is a unique development in Asian Islamic art and Mughal art in India
• A distinct and strong school of painting developed in the plateau region of southern India, beyond the Vindhya mountain range, during the 16th and 17th centuries under the Deccan Sultans

Ahmadnagar School of Painting

• The earliest examples are in a volume of poems celebrating Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmadnagar (1553–1565)
• Battle scenes miniatures lack artistic interest, depictions of the queen and her marriage are known for gorgeous colors and sensuous lines
• Women are represented in the northern tradition of pre-Mughal painting, similar to Malwa and Ahmedabad
• Women wear a modified northern costume with choli (bodice) and long braided pigtails with a tassel
• They also feature a southern fashion of a long scarf around the hips, similar to Lepakshi frescoes
• The palette is rich and brilliant, unlike northern manuscripts from the Mughal atelier
• High circular horizon and gold sky show Persian influence
• Feminine dress, presented in Ragamala paintings, are striking examples of 16th-century Deccan Schools of Painting
• Women's hair is styled in a bun on the nape, like Lepakshi murals
• The horizon is replaced by a neutral colored ground with stylized plants or architectural domes, with traces of North India or Persia

Bijapur School of Painting

• Paintings from Bijapur include a richly illustrated encyclopaedia, Nujum al-Ulum, dated 1570 with 876 miniatures
• It illustrates weapons, utensils, and constellations
• Women are depicted in South Indian dress, tall and slender, like Ragamala paintings
• The school was patronized by Ali Adil Shah I (1558–1580) and Ibrahim II (1580–1627), patrons of art and literature
• Ibrahim II was an expert in Indian music and authored Nauras-nama and may have commissioned the Ragamala series in the 1590s
• Bijapur had connections with Turkey, evident in astronomical illustrations in Nujum al-Ulum derived from Ottoman Turkish manuscripts
• Ragamala paintings have Indian connections, with echoes of the Lepakshi style and exemplify the luxuriant aestheticism of the Adil Shah court with daring color and simplified composition

Nujum al-Ulum: The Throne of Prosperity

• Nujum al-Ulum:* The Throne of Prosperity depicts seven stages supported by elephants, tigers, palm trees, peacocks, and primitive tribes
• Structures resemble wood-carved doorways and facades of Gujarati homes or Deccan temples
• The coloring is in Islamic Persian tradition, with arabesques and a Deccani foliage against a blue sky
• Stylized plants have visual references to Gujarati manuscript margin decorations from the early 16th century

Yogini Painting Theme

• Yogini represents one who believes in yoga, leads a disciplined life, and is famous for renouncing worldly attachments
• The artist prefers a vertical composition with a long standing figure complimented by a group of tapering white structures
• The Yogini is adorned with jewelry and has an elongated hair bun, surrounded by flora and landscape

Golconda School of Painting

• Golconda became an independent state in 1512 and the wealthiest of the Deccan kingdoms by the end of the 16th century due to trade
• Ports traded iron and cotton goods to South East Asia, while trade continued with Persia
• Visuals highlight gold jewelry worn by both women and men
• Art became popular as Dutch merchants carried portraits of sultans to Europe in the late 17th century for the bazaar with references to royal paintings
• Early paintings (1635–1650) were large wall hangings with pictorial designs and figures in architectural settings
• The earliest five miniatures, found in Diwan of Hafiz, dated 1463, depict court scenes of a young ruler with a long Deccani sword
• The Prince wears a white coat with embroidered vertical bands and the pages are enriched with gold and deep azure sky
• Dancing girls entertain the royal gathering.
• Symmetrical architecture has registers of flat screens, and the ground is covered with patterned carpets, with no Mughal influence
• Purple hue is used, and animals are sometimes blue

Portrait of Muhammad Qutb Shah

• Muhammad Qutb Shah (1611–1626) is depicted sitting on a diwan wearing typical Golconda dress and a tight-fitting cap
• The composition is sophisticated, retaining the symmetry of the 1590 pages.

Golconda's Composite Horse painting

• It includes intertwined human figures forming a galloping horse on a decorated background
• Flying cranes and lions, Chinese clouds, and plants enhance the surreal element
• Rocky corners anchor the painting, dislocating the sense of space and uses a limited color schema of browns and blues

Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II Hawking painting

• Painting has brilliant red, dark dense forest foliage, deep olive green, emerald green, cobalt blue, cranes, and a golden blue sky enhance the experience
• Persian influence is evident in the treatment of the horse and rocks, while plants and the landscape have native inspiration
• The galloping horse generates energy and activates the landscape in Moscow, Russia

Ragini Pathamsika of Raga Hindola painting

• Painting is an intriguing work is from the National Museum of New Delhi and dates back to around 1590–95.
• Some scholars believe it is from Bijapur
• Painting was a highly developed art form in the Deccani states and has obvious Persian influence.
• This influence can be seen in the arabesque decoration.
• Two dressed women are seen in the pavilion, while the third is seen outside of it.
• The musician is playing an indian instrument called a veena, while the other women are accompanying with sway of their bodies
• The colors are vibrant, and red and green is complimented by green.
• What is also to be noted here is a dark elephant in the left hand corner, with a raised trunk, a delightful sign of welcome

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah painting

• Painting is a portrait of the Sultan
• The Sultan is enthroned, and he is holding a sword and he has a halo around his head

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusrau painting

• Painting is in the collection of the National Musuem, New Delhi and depicts Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Hazrat Amir Khusrau who is playing music for his master
• The the dargah of Hazrat Nizamudin Auliya in New Delhi has qawwali by Khusrau in praise of his Master

Chand Bibi Playing Polo

• Painting shows Chand Bibi, the Queen of Bijapur and great sports person, showing the playing of the equestrian Polo named chaugan