Viewing Cultural Exchange from Mughal Paintings

Abstract

The Mughals had established an empire in Indian subcontinent and brought the Persian art and culture to the subcontinent. And then over a period of time the Persian elements were associated with the indigenous and European style of painting. These different indigenous and foreign elements helped the genre to flourish. Despite of this blend of various cultures the Mughal painter successfully maintained the district of the Mughal School painting. In this way Mughal tradition of painting received a pan- Indian character. So the essay would attempt to elaborate these different styles and discuss over the events of cultural exchange which
left their profound impact on the Mughal paintings and enriched the artistic culture of India. But some of these paintings have political dimension as well. For example-the 16th century European allegoric tradition influenced Jahangir and he formed his own political allegory which has been clearly manifested in the paintings of that era.