The Deccani Schools of Painting Chapter Notes | Fine Art for Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Deccani Schools of Painting

Deccani Painting was a distinct and strong school of painting nurtured and expanded under various Sultans of the Deccan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was placed under Indo-Persian art and was considered to be of Middle Eastern, Safavid, Persian, Turkish and even Mughal in origin.

Ahmadnagar School of Painting

The earliest examples of Deccani painting are in a volume of poems celebrating the reign of Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmadnagar (1553–1565). The paintings in the volume depict the queen and her marriage, and are striking with gorgeous colours and sensuous lines. The women in the paintings of Ahmadnagar wear a modified northern costume with choli (bodice) and long braided pigtails, while only a long scarf passing round the body below the hips is a southern fashion, seen in the Lepakshi frescoes. The high circular horizon and gold sky in the paintings have Persian influence.

Bijapur School of Painting

The paintings from Bijapur in the sixteenth century have a richly illustrated encyclopaedia known as the Nujum al-Ulum, dated 1570. Among the 876 miniatures, many illustrate weapons and utensils, while others the constellations. The women are shown in south Indian dress, tall and slender as those in the Ragamala paintings. The school of Bijapur was patronised by Ali Adil Shah I (1558–1580) and his successor Ibrahim II (1580–1627), both patrons of art and literature. The latter was also an expert in Indian music and author of a book on this subject, Nauras-nama.

Golconda School of Painting

Golconda was an independent state that emerged as the wealthiest of the Deccan kingdoms in the sixteenth century due to brisk trade and the discovery of diamonds in the seventeenth century. Golconda’s art gained popularity as Dutch merchants carried portraits of sultans to Europe in the late seventeenth century.

Early Golconda Paintings

The earliest five miniatures identified as Golconda work were bound up in Diwan of Hafiz, dated 1463. These paintings represent court scenes of a young ruler, wearing a white coat with embroidered vertical bands, seated enthroned, holding a typically long and straight Deccani sword in the centre of one of the painting folios. The paintings are covered with pictorial designs, generally, figures in architectural settings of varied origin, and are lavishly enriched with gold. The architecture has several registers of flat screens one above the other, and the ground is covered with elaborately patterned carpets.

Portraits of Muhammad Qutb Shah

There is a portrait of Muhammad Qutb Shah (1611–1626) as he sits on a diwan early in his reign. He wears typical Golconda dress and an elegant tight-fitting cap. The composition has gained increased sophistication and skill while retaining the strict symmetry of the 1590 pages. There is adequate reference to Mughal painting, especially in the plastic rendering, drape of the courteseans’ and groom’s attire.

Sufi Poem Manuscript

A manuscript of a Sufi poem with paraphrased prose is richly illustrated with more than 20 miniatures. Gold is again freely used. The peculiar feature of this painting is the colouring of the skies in gold and blue in separate bands. The men’s and women’s costumes indicate the fashion trend under Ibrahim II of Bijapur.

Composite Horse

The Composite Horse painting from Golconda in early seventeenth century is a unique amalgamation of artistic elements. The surreal image of a galloping horse emerges from the intertwined human figures on a decorated background that includes flying cranes, lions, Chinese clouds, and plants with large leaves. The rocky formations in the bottom corners anchor the painting, creating a sense of dislocation of space. The limited color scheme of brown and blue enhances the visual experience of the painting.

Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II Hawking

The painting Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II Hawking depicts the energy and sensibility of the horse with brilliant red on its limbs and tail, and the flowing garment of the sultan. The dense forest foliage, with shades of deep olive green, emerald green, and cobalt blue, along with cranes in the background and sunlit golden blue sky, add to the narrative of the painting. The white hawk takes center stage, while the horse and rocks reflect Persian influence and the dense foreground landscape shows native inspiration.

Ragini Pathamsika of Raga Hindola

Ragini Pathamsika of Raga Hindola is a painting from around 1590-95, believed to be from Bijapur, an important state of Deccan. It is a highly developed art form that displays Persian influence in the arabesque decoration on the surface of the two domes that delineate the upper part of the painting. The painting features two beautifully dressed and bejeweled women in a pavilion, with a central female musician playing an Indian instrument, and the other two accompanying her with rhythmic sways. The colours are vibrant with red being dominant, and the forms appear stylised, with deep emphasis on dark lines.

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah

Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah's portrait is an important artwork from the Deccani state of Bijapur. In the painting, Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah is enthroned, holding a sword in one hand to symbolize his political sovereignty, while a halo around his head depicts his divinity. The painting is in the collection of National Museum, New Delhi, India.

Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusrau

This provincial painting depicts Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the revered Sufi saint of the thirteenth century, listening to music being played by his disciple, Hazrat Amir Khusrau, a renowned Indian poet and scholar. The painting is charming and narrative, and portrays a popular Indian theme. It is in the collection of National Museum, New Delhi, India.

Chand Bibi Playing Polo

The painting shows Chand Bibi, the Queen of Bijapur, playing chaugan, the equestrian polo game. Chand Bibi resisted the Mughal political attempts to overtake the state by Emperor Akbar, and was a great sportsperson. The painting appears to be provincial of a later period and is in the collection of National Museum, New Delhi, India.