Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Fine Arts

Chapter

The Mughal School of Miniature Painting

Question:

Match the person in List- I with description in List- II

List- I (Person)

List- II (description)

(A) Babur

(I) started the illustration of Hamza Nama

(B) Humayun

(II) wrote autobiography

(C) Abul Fazal

(III) Safavid ruler who gave shelter to Humayun

(D) Shah Tahmasp

(IV) Court Historian of Akbar

Options:

(A)-(I), (B)-(IV), (C)-(II), (D)-(III)

(A)-(III), (B)-(IV), (C)-(II), (D)-(I)

(A)-(II), (B)-(I), (C)-(IV), (D)-(III)

(A)-(IV), (B)-(III), (C)-(I), (D)-(II)

Correct Answer:

(A)-(II), (B)-(I), (C)-(IV), (D)-(III)

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option 3- (A)-(II), (B)-(I), (C)-(IV), (D)-(III)

In 1526, Babur, the first Mughal emperor, came from present day Uzbekistan and was a descendent of Emperor Timur and Chatghtai Turk. With this, he blended the cultural background and aesthetic sensibilities of Persia and Central Asia. Babur had a dynamic taste for a variety of arts. He is reputed to be a man of letters and a keen patron of art, manuscripts, architecture, gardening, etc. Babur’s detailed accounts in Baburnama, his autobiography, are narratives of the emperor’s political carrier and artistic passion. Baburnama reflects the love and fondness that Babur had as an outsider for the Indian land and ecology. With his fervour for detailed writing, Babur established a tradition of keeping memoirs, a practice which was followed by his successors in India.

Humayun’s rule began a period of intense patronage for the art of painting and calligraphy. He founded the Nigaar Khana (painting workshop), which was also a part of his library. Not much is known about the size and composition of Humayun’s workshop in India. However, it is known that he started the project of illustration of Hamza Nama that was continued by his son and successor Akbar.

The tradition and fascination for painting started by Humayun was carried forward by his illustrious son Akbar (1556–1605). Abul Fazal, the court historian of Akbar, writes about Akbar’s passion for arts. He records that more than a hundred artists were employed in the royal atelier. This included the most skilled Persian and indigenous Indian artists of that time.

Babur was succeeded by his son Humayun in 1530, who unfortunately fell prey to political unrest, and his life took many unexpected turns. Dethroned by an Afghan, Sher Khan (Sher Shah), Humayun took refuge in the court of the Safavid Persian ruler, Shah Tahmasp.