Abu'l-Hasan (or Abu al-Hasan) (1589 – c. 1630), from
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, India, was a
Mughal painter
Mughal painting is a style of painting on paper confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums (muraqqa), from the territory of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. It emerged from Persian miniature paint ...
of
miniatures during the reign of
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
.
Biography
Abu al-Hasan was the son of
Aqa Reza of
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...
in
Safavid Iran
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
, a city with an artistic tradition.
Aqa Reza was established as an artist and took up employment with
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
(r. 1605 –1627) before the latter's accession to the throne of the
Mughal empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
.
When Abu al-Hasan began producing art, the
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, Jahangir, appreciated the skills of the boy.
In 1599, Abu al-Hasan moved with Jahangir to his newly founded court in
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
.
The emperor considered Abu al-Hasan to be particularly special to him and under his care.
This is because although Abu al-Hasan's artwork was similar in many ways to his father's with
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
influence, it was considered to be of a higher quality similar to that of older masters in the field.
Jahangir said of Abu al-Hasan that he had no equal and for the work done on the frontispiece for his memoires, the emperor bestowed the title ''Nadir-uz-Saman'' ("Wonder of the Age") on Abu al-Hasan in 1618.
Abu al-Hasan's main task was the documentation of events at the imperial court, which resulted in many portraits being completed.
Portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
s were the hallmark of Jahangir's rule.
Not many of Abu al-Hasan's paintings survived, but those that identify him as the artist show that he also worked on a range of subjects, including some everyday scenes
and political paintings that showed the emperor and
Mughal empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
in a positive and powerful light.
In addition to original works of art, Abu al-Hasan also retouched other artists' paintings (one such example is below: ''Dancing Dervishes'')
Abu al-Hasan's career aligned with developments in the style of
Mughal painting
Mughal painting is a style of painting on paper confined to miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums (muraqqa), from the territory of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. It e ...
s.
However, when Jahangir's reign came to an end, and
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
began his rule, Abu al-Hasan's career became less active until 1628 from which point on, there is no evidence of him producing art.
Works
Gallery
File:6Abu'l Hasan Squirrels in a Plane Tree, ca. 1610, India Office Library and Records, London.jpg, alt=, ''Squirrels in a Plane Tree'' (c. 1610).
File:Jahangircrop.jpeg, alt=Portrait of Jahangir (detail) by Abu al-Hasan, 1617, Portrait of Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
(detail) by Abu al-Hasan, 1617.
File:10 Abu'l Hasan Saʿdī presents a book of his poems, 1615, Walters Art Museum, Baltimor.jpg, alt=Saʿdī presents a book of his poems, 1615, Walters Art Museum, Saʿdī presents a book of his poems, 1615, Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
.
File:18 Abu'l Hasan. Portrait of Jahangir, 1615-20, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New-York.jpg, alt=Portrait of Jahangir, 1615–20, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Portrait of Jahangir, 1615–1620, Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
File:7 Abu'l Hasan, Spotted Forktail, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album ca. 1610–15 Metropolitan Museum New-York.jpg, alt=Spotted Forktail, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, c. 1610–15, Metropolitan Museum, Spotted Forktail, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, c. 1610–1615, Metropolitan Museum.
File:8 Abu'l Hasan. Celebrations at the accession of Jahangir. Jahangirnama. St. Petersburg Album. ca. 1615-18, Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg..jpg, alt=Celebrations at the accession of Jahangir. Jahangirnama. St. Petersburg Album, c. 1615–18, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Celebrations at the accession of Jahangir. Jahangirnama. St. Petersburg Album, c. 1615–1618, .
File:Emperor Jahangir, Triumphing Over Poverty, ca1620-1625.jpg, alt=Emperor Jahangir Triumphing over Poverty, attributed to Abu'l Hasan, ca. 1620–1625. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on page, 23.81 x 15.24 cm., ''Emperor Jahangir Triumphing over Poverty,'' attributed to Abu'l Hasan, c. 1620–1625. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on page, 23.81 x 15.24 cm.
File:Durbar scene of Jahangir.jpg, Durbar Scene of Jahangir. Painted by Abu'l Hasan, ca. 1615. Opaque water color, gold, and ink on paper, 16.9 x 12.3 cm. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., purchase F1946.28.
File:Abu'l - The St. Petersburg Album- Allegorical representation of Emperor Jahangir and Shah - Google Art Project.jpg, alt=Abu'l - The St. Petersburg Album- Allegorical representation of Emperor Jahangir and Shah, Abu'l - The St. Petersburg Album - Allegorical representation of Emperor Jahangir and Shah.
File:Jahangir Entertains Shah Abbas.jpg, Abu'l Hasan, ''Jahangir Entertains Shah Abbas'', c. 1620. Washington, DC: Freer and Sackler Galleries.
File:Jahangir - Abu al-Hasan.jpeg, alt=The Mughal Emperor Jahangir with Radiant Gold Halo, Holding a Globe (c. 1617)The largest known Mughal portrait depicting Emperor Jahangir. Attributed to Abu'l Hasan, Nadir al-Zaman painted at Mandu, ''The Mughal Emperor Jahangir with Radiant Gold Halo, Holding a Globe'' (c. 1617). The largest known Mughal portrait depicting Emperor Jahangir. Attributed to Abu'l Hasan, Nadir al-Zaman painted at Mandu.
File:2 Abu'l Hasan. Study of St. John Evangelist adapted from Durer's Crusifixion engraving of 1511. Dated 1600-1601, The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford..jpg, alt=2 Abu'l Hasan. Study of St. John Evangelist adapted from Durer's Crucifixion engraving of 1511. Dated 1600–1601, The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford., Abu'l Hasan. Study of St. John Evangelist adapted from Durer's Crucifixion engraving of 1511. Dated 1600 –1601, The Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of O ...
, Oxford.
File:Dancing Dervishes.jpg, alt="Dancing Dervishes", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album. Originally by Aqa Mirak, retouched by Abu'l Hasan, "Dancing Dervishes", Folio from the Shah Jahan Album. Originally by Aqa Mirak
Aqa Mirak (floruit, fl. 1520 – Qazvin, 1576) was a Persia, Persian illustrator and Persian art, painter.
Life
Aqa Mirak was a painter, purveyor and companion to the Safavid dynasty, Safavid shah Tahmasp I and was well known in contemporary circ ...
, retouched by Abu'l Hasan.
References
External links
The Emperors' album: images of Mughal India an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Abu al-Hasan
Study of Saint John the Evangelist After Albrecht Durer, dated 1600 –1601, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
''Spotted Forktail,'' Folio from the Shah Jahan Album (''c. 1610 –1615)''The Metropolitan Museum of Art
*
Jahangir Shoots Malik 'Anbar (c.1620)Freer Gallery of Art''
*
Emperor Jahangir Triumphing over Poverty(c. 1620 –1625)'' Los Angeles County Museum of Art
*
Darbar Scene of Jahangir (c. 1615) Freer Gallery of Art''
*
Allegorical Representation of Emperor Jahangir and Shah 'Abbas of Persia( c. 1618) Freer Gallery of Art''
*
The Mughal Emperor Jahangir with Radiant Gold Halo, Holding a Globe (c. 1617)' Sotheby's Picture Library, London
''Jahangir entertains Abbas'' (c. 1620)Freer Gallery of Art
An exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum, October 21,1987-February 14,1988
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Hasan, Abu
Mughal painters
1589 births
17th-century deaths
17th-century Iranian painters
17th-century Indian painters
Painters from Delhi