Basawan

Dear reader, We need your support to keep the flame of knowledge burning bright! Our hosting server bill is due on June 1st, and without your help, Bharatpedia faces the risk of shutdown. We've come a long way together in exploring and celebrating our rich heritage. Now, let's unite to ensure Bharatpedia continues to be a beacon of knowledge for generations to come. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference. Together, let's preserve and share the essence of Bharat.

Thank you for being part of the Bharatpedia family!
Please scan the QR code on the right to donate.

0%

transparency: ₹0 raised out of ₹100,000 (0 supporter)

A Court Scene from Sadi's Gulistan (Rose Garden), 1596

Basāwan, or Basāvan (flourished 1580–1600), was an Indian miniature painter in the Mughal style. He was known by his contemporaries as a skilled colorist and keen observer of human nature, and for his use of portraiture in the illustrations of Akbarnama, Mughal Emperor, Akbar's official Biography, which is seen as an innovation in Indian art.^[1]

Biography[edit]

Shree Basawan Lal Jain ji was born & brought up in Agra accompanied by 4 brothers(Pratap, Ratan Lal, Mahasur & Braj Lal. His father was Nen Sukhdas Jain. His family still lives in their heritage home in Kala Mahal, Agra. He became a court painter for Akbar, where he came under the influence of Abd al-Samad. His son Manohar Das succeeded him as court painter.^{[citation needed]}

Work[edit]

A Jain Ascetic Walking Along a Riverbank ca.1600

Over 100 paintings are attributed to Basawan. His earliest mention is found in an illustrated version of Tutinama c. 1556-61. Most of them are illustrations for manuscripts. In many of them, Basawan was the designer, in collaboration with a second artist who supplied the color. Among the works that can definitely be attributed to Basawan are illustrations for the Razmnama, the Akbar-nama, the Darab-nama, the Baharistan of Jami and the Timur-name.^[2]

Basawan was one of the first Indian artists to be interested in western techniques, inspired by the European paintings brought to Akbar's court by Jesuit missionaries. It can be seen in his use of strong contrasts of light and shade, although Western influence is never predominant in his work. Basawan was also noted for his exploration of space, the delineation of his backgrounds, the strength of his colors, and the strong, moving characterizations of his subjects. Abu al-Fadl 'Allami, historiographer for Akbar, wrote about Basawan: "In designing and portrait painting and colouring and painting illusionistically... he became unrivalled in the world".^[3]

Citations[edit]

↑ Illustration from the Akbarnama: History of Akbar Archived 2009-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Art Institute of Chicago
↑ Bloom, Jonathan; Blair, Sheila S. (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 268–270.
↑ "Basavan", Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

References[edit]

"Basavan", in Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 March 2009 from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/54676/Basavan
Rizvi, S. A. A., "Basawan", Academic American Encyclopedia, 1991 edition, volume 3, p. 101.

External links[edit]

The Emperors' album: images of Mughal India, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Basawan

[art-1] Illustration from the Akbarnama: History of Akbar Archived 2009-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Art Institute of Chicago

[2] Bloom, Jonathan; Blair, Sheila S. (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 268–270.

[3] "Basavan", Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

[1]

[2]

[3]