Never Has There Been a Shade1

“O this date [in 1618] Abu’l Hasan the artist, who had been awarded the title Nadir al-Zaman [Wonder of the Age], presented a painting he had made .... Since it was worthy of praise, he was shown limitless favor. Without exaggeration, his work is perfect, and his depiction is a masterpiece of the age.” These were the words of Emperor Jahangir of the Mughal Dynasty of India. “Abu’l Hasan’s father,” Jahangir continued, “was Aqa Reza of Herat [in western Afghanistan], who joined my service while I was still a prince. Abu’l Hasan therefore is a khanazad [born in the household, a second generation painter attached to the court].” His earliest known work, executed at age 12, a drawing after Albrecht Dürer’s series the Apocalypse of St. John, already showed the promise of his mature work. The Mughal Dynasty, known for its contributions in the political unification of India, also marked a golden age for the arts; particularly during the reign of Jahangir, when art intended to document the life and culture of the court flourished and a distinctive style developed known as Mughal painting. An opinionated collector and connoisseur, Jahangir was a literate and refined man. “I derive such enjoyment from painting and have such expertise in judging it,” he wrote in his Memoirs, “that, even without the artist’s name being mentioned, no work of past or present masters can be shown to me that I do not instantly recognize who did it.” Also a writer and naturalist, this aesthete emperor housed and recorded flora and fauna from near and afar. He took pity on elephants in winter and provided heated water for them to bathe in; he had shawls made for jackals to shield them against the cold. He encouraged detailed depictions of these and other animals, which his court painters produced prolifically, along with faithful copies of art prints, brought to India by missionaries. During the 16th and 17th centuries, trade and the movement of humans, animals, and plants increased around the globe. Italian Renaissance reached the Mughal court, and the representational realism of the court, shaped by Hindu, Persian, and Chinese influences, found its way into European painting as Dutch and other artists visited India. Rembrandt collected Mughal works, while artists of the court