Musliam Miniature Paintings : a review
An article by Muhammad Ibrahim
Cultural integration always adds new meaning to art scene.
Sometimes one borrows, develops and refines ancient thoughts with new metaphors, sometimes one watches others doing so.
Centuries ago, when Muslim philosophers studied the theory of love by Plato, the theory that tell us of an absolute and pure love of the beautiful, a love that consumes, it changed every thing.
Like they say:
"when they loved, died of that affliction, they had hearts that melted like salts in water"
Udhrite love as well as Platonic love transfigured into symbol of mystical love of man for God.
This concept laid the foundation of the Muslim romanticism. “A love that is unattainable"
Love for the divine, metaphorized into the love of beings, who is knowable only through intuition or other wise expressed, illumination, light and love of the supreme objects and along with this goes the idea that "every thing that exists is an emanation of the divine in a descending hierarchy and man tops the list as the representative of the divine and the most beautiful and adorable creature, carrying almost all attributes," to a granted limit", of The Divine, The God, The beautiful.
Al-Jahiz speaks of the beautiful in the same term as Plato that is at the same time truth, good and exists.
Abu-Bakar-al-Wasiti (homonym of painter)
"let him who desires to contemplate the glory of God, look at a red rose”.
Beauty is God and beauty symbolizes that God exists. This laid down the basic principals of Muslim art, always beautiful and decorative.
Illuminations borrowed from Byzantine were re-shaped on Muslim philosophy, a devastating argues to picture down the "invisible" as it was forbidden, artists developed metaphoric symbols.
Rhythmic calligraphy used in publication of Quran, where letters were treated as text images describing the divine message,
Letter became symbolic to God, geometric shapes and square became symbolic to Kiblah and later God. Triangle symbolizes God, Prophet and Quran, stability of the faith. Spiral arrangements of shapes in compositions, growing out-word is symbolic to big bang, expansion of universe and growing in-word is symbolic to the rolling of the universe, Always in constant motion, The God.
By the very splendor of its colors, the polyphony of their relationships, the beauty of a pictorial world whose structures are marked by the faces of men and women and mathematical curves that link them, a miniature can truly be said to bear witness deeply and in its every essence to beauty and therefore, to God.
By making it always equally lovely whether it represents bloody battles, princely receptions in a garden, noble places or pair of lovers, the painter gives direct and tangible evidence that beauty exists so the God exists.
Miniature is also known as “art of book illustration", illustrating the historical events, biographies etc. These illustrations are done on a special support "wasli" prepared by a unique process. Images are rendered by specially processed, single squirrel hair brushes. Colors are made by mixing "saphead”, originally prepared by white pearls.
Miniature mostly developed in Persia evolving into a school “Persian miniatures". A highly stylized form of miniature painting, in which highly stylized and decorative images are developed.
Miniature developed in sub-continent more sophisticated under Mughals into "mughal miniature” with close to natural, realistic rendering approach.
British influence evolved miniature into another school “Christian mughal miniature" with more concern to 3d rendering, Christian iconography and themes.
In list also stands "Kangra miniature" done in hilly areas, flat, less rendered then mughals, with mostly Hindu themes.
In Pakistan, Haji Muhammad Sharif and Sheikh Shujaullah were the two main personalities who were able to preserve this tradition of miniature paintings. Under Ustad Bashir Ahmed, Prof. at NCA miniature became a major course subject at NCA in 1982.
Author: (c) Mian Naeem
Art Critique
Lahore, Pakistan.
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