After the Great Mughals: Painting in Delhi and the Regional Courts in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Although the study of painting under the Great Mughals is one of the most popular topics of Indian art historical research, scant attention has been given to the continuation of this tradition - the painting and illustrated manuscripts produced at the Delhi court and various regional schools from the reign of Bahadur Shah I in 1707 to the end of the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1858. During this period, the government at Delhi became weaker with multiple invasions by the Persian and Afghan armies, and attacks by Rohilla, Maratha, and Jat forces. Court artists fled Delhi to the safety of new eastern capitals, at Lucknow or Faizabad in Avadh or Murshidabad in Bengal, and local schools with highly individualistic styles came into their own. Hovering over these schools of painting was the influence of patrons from the East India Company. This volume addresses several important themes of the era: the development of the styles of major artists, such as Chitarman, Dip Chand, and Imam Bakhsh, and their influence on later Mughal painting; the proliferation of regional styles during these years; and finally offered are new appraisals of the European contribution to Indian art of these 150 years.