Abu al-Hasan
Abu al-Hasan (also Abul Hasan ; * 1589 , † around 1630 ) was one of the most famous miniature painters of the Indian Mughal Empire . He was the son of the Persian painter Aqa Riza of Herat , which the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar I lived. As a child, Abu al-Hasan worked for Akbar and after his death (1605) for the artist schools (including in Allahabad ) of his son Jahangir , who particularly encouraged and appreciated him. In Jahangir's biography he is mentioned with the title Nadir as-Zaman ( Persian "Highly Praised of the Age").
Abu al-Hasan became famous primarily as a painter of portraits of Emperor Jahangir, Mughal noblemen and foreign ambassadors at the Mughal court, as well as depicting village scenes and images of animals. His individual style is characterized by the sparing use of background details, bold coloring and Persian calligraphy influenced by Chinese techniques . The strong contouring common to other Mughal miniatures of the era is missing in his works, which is probably due to the contact with the contemporary Persian painting school. During a study visit to Italy, he also learned the European technique of oil painting, but remained essentially true to the Persian painting tradition.
His most famous works are the portraits of the ruler Jahangir's dream (Jahangir embraces Shah Abbas I of Persia) and two miniatures that are very similar in composition, on which Jahangir is shown standing on a globe and shooting an arrow, but once he shoots at the allegory of poverty, once on the head of the military leader Malik Ambar of the warring Sultanate Ahmadnagar . The miniature squirrel in a plane tree is reminiscent of European models with its realistic depiction of climbing squirrels, while its composition is entirely Indian-Persian.
literature
- Günter Meißner (abbreviation): General artist lexicon. Volume 1: A − Alanson. Saur, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-598-22741-8 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Abu al-Hasan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Abul Hasan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian miniature painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1589 |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1630 |