Miniature Painting
Rajasthan
A miniature painting is an intricate form of illustration, executed
meticulously with delicate brushwork. This exquisite form of art was
used in early times to document historical accounts, literary works of
poetry and prose, biography and important texts. Though the history
of miniature painting can be traced to the sixth century AD, this form
of art flourished in the court of the Moghuls and then spread to other
kingdoms of north India creating the Rajput, Pahadi, Punjab, Jaipur,
Kota, Boondi, Kangra, Alwar, Malwa, Bikaner and many other schools,
each with its own distinct style of miniature paintings.
The artists painted on a variety of materials like paper, ivory-panels,
wooden tablets, leather, marble, cloth and walls and used colours
derived from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch
shells, pure gold and silver. The brushes were made from very fine
hair, mostly obtained from squirrel.
Even today, masters of miniature painting follow the same methods
and use the same natural colours to create their masterpieces.
They frequently use paper from old manuscripts and books for their
paintings.
S. Shakir Ali was born in 1956 and learnt the art of miniature painting from the age of 15, under
the guidance of renowned artist, Shri Ved Pal Sharma (Bannu ji). He has specialised in Mughal
art and has restored the old paintings at the City Palace, Jaipur, and at the Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. He is the recipient of many awards including the Rajasthan
Kala Kendra in 1978; the first prize at the 10th Folk Festival in 1992 organised by SAARC at
Islamabad; and the second prize at the International Illumination and Miniature Festival in Algeria
in 2009. He was recently presented with the NextGen Excellence Award on Gandhi Jayanti (Oct
2, 2014) in Jaipur.
