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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India, was a Mughal painter of miniatures during the reign of

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

Biography

Abu al-Hasan was the son of Aqa Reza Heravi of

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in 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 (''Se ...

Safavid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, a city with an artistic tradition. Aqa Reza was established as an artist and took up employment with

(r. 1605 –1627) before the latter's accession to the throne of the

Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. When Abu al-Hasan began producing art, the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, Jahangir, appreciated the skills of the boy. In 1599, Abu al-Hasan moved with Jahangir to his newly founded court in

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

. 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 and English 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 painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

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

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 South Asian style of painting on paper made in to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums (muraqqa), originating from the territory of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It ...

s. However, when Jahangir's reign came to an end, and

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

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

(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 is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

. 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, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. 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,

Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (IOM) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ), formerly the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is a research institute in Saint Petersburg, Russi ...

. 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, 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, 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 Painters from the Mughal Empire 1589 births 17th-century deaths 17th-century Iranian painters 17th-century Indian painters Painters from Delhi 17th-century Mughal Empire people Iranian emigrants to the Mughal Empire