Question map
Who among the following Mughal Emperors shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to album and individual portrait?
Explanation
During Jahangir's reign, the focus moved away from manuscripts to muraqqas (albums) and the emphasis shifted from quantity to quality.[4] This represents a significant shift in Mughal painting tradition from the previous emphasis on illustrated manuscripts.
In contrast, Humayun's rule began a period of intense patronage for the art of painting and calligraphy[5], marking the beginning rather than a shift in emphasis. Akbar laid great emphasis on illustration of manuscripts, and it was under his patronage that several seminal projects of translation and illustration of manuscripts were carried out.[6] During Akbar's reign, hundreds of thousands of folios were produced (for assembling into albums and manuscripts) in the imperial atelier by an estimated 100 artists working together as a team.[7] This clearly shows Akbar's focus remained on manuscript production rather than shifting away from it.
Therefore, Jahangir was the Mughal Emperor who distinctly shifted the artistic emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to albums and individual portraits, making option C the correct answer.
Sources- [1] https://smarthistory.org/the-mughal-painting-tradition-an-introduction/
- [2] https://smarthistory.org/the-mughal-painting-tradition-an-introduction/
- [3] https://smarthistory.org/the-mughal-painting-tradition-an-introduction/
- [4] https://smarthistory.org/the-mughal-painting-tradition-an-introduction/
- [5] https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lefa103.pdf
- [6] https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lefa103.pdf
- [7] https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/17830/
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'Evolution of Style' question. While the exact phrasing matches web sources like SmartHistory, the core concept (Akbar = Manuscripts/Narrative vs. Jahangir = Albums/Individualism) is a staple of the Class XI Fine Arts NCERT. It tests your understanding of the 'delta' or transition between reigns rather than just rote memorization of painter names.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Did Mughal Emperor Humayun shift the artistic emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to albums and individual portraiture?
- Statement 2: Did Mughal Emperor Akbar shift the artistic emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to albums and individual portraiture?
- Statement 3: Did Mughal Emperor Jahangir shift the artistic emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to albums and individual portraiture?
- Statement 4: Did Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan shift the artistic emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to albums and individual portraiture?
- Explicitly states the shift away from manuscripts to albums (muraqqas) and a change in emphasis occurred under Jahangir, not Humayun.
- Indicates the move to albums and a different emphasis (quality/individual works) happened in a later reign, which implies Humayun did not enact that shift.
- Shows Humayun patronized painting and portraiture and established an imperial atelier, indicating he supported painting but does not claim he shifted emphasis to albums and individual portraiture.
- Supports the view that Humayun began patronage of portraiture but leaves the major institutional/format shift to a later ruler.
States that illustrated Mughal miniatures were important and that Humayun brought Central Asian masters (Abdu's Samad, Mir Sayyid Ali) who 'inspired Indian painters'.
A student could link arrival of Central Asian painters under Humayun to possible introduction of new formats (e.g., album/portrait practices) by checking Persian/Central Asian art habits.
Timeline notes Humayun's exile at the Safavid court (1540–55), indicating direct contact with Persian (Safavid) artistic culture.
One could use basic knowledge that Safavid art favored album pages and portraiture to infer potential influence on Mughal tastes after Humayun's return.
Describes how court painters sometimes inserted small scenes (e.g., hunting) as symbolic elements, showing flexibility in subject and format beyond continuous manuscript illustration.
A student might infer that court painters were accustomed to composing discrete images (compatible with album leaves or standalone portraits) and check if this practice increased after Humayun.
Contains an assignment suggestion to prepare an album by collecting pictures related to Mughal architecture, indicating 'album' is a recognized Mughal collecting/format practice (in later pedagogical framing).
A student could use this as a prompt to investigate when albums became a common Mughal format and whether Humayun's period shows evidence of that practice.
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