This article forms part of a series about the definition, evolution and impact of art movements, and why those movements are important from an art historical perspective. In this article, we discuss South Asian miniature art and its development and innovation in contemporary art.
Imran Qureshi, ‘Opening Word Of This New Scripture’, 2013, gouache and gold leaf on wasli paper, 38 x 57 cm. Image courtesy Corvi Mora, London.
What is miniature art? The origins
The origins of South Asian miniature art can be traced back to eleventh and twelfth century India. The earliest examples of miniature painting are the illustrated Buddhist manuscripts of the Palas from eastern India and the Jainist texts from western India. During the fifteenth century, influences from Persian painting started to appear in western Indian manuscripts, such as the use of ultramarine blue and gold colours.
Shahzia Sikander, ‘Perilous Order’, 1989-1997, dry pigment, watercolour and gold leaf on hand prepared wasli paper. Permanent Collection of Whitney Museum. Image courtesy Sikander Studio.
Why is The Mughal School so important?
The Mughal School of Painting is considered to be a landmark in the history of South Asian miniature art and is the source of inspiration for the form’s contemporary interpretations. The school originated in the sixteenth century during the reign of Emperor Akbar, the first great Mughal patron of the arts, who institutionalised the first court studios. The works produced by the resident artists were compiled into albums depicting historical events, legendary and romantic tales, and fables from both Indian and Persian sources.
Nusra Latif Qureshi, ‘Did you come here to find history?, 2009, detail, digital print on transparent film, 65 x 870 cm. Image courtesy Sutton Gallery.
The Mughal style was a synthesis of the Indian style and the Safavid school of Persian miniature painting, marked by delicate draughtsmanship and supple naturalism based on close observation of nature. The style also absorbed western techniques such as shading and perspective. The paintings were traditionally executed with gouache and precious metal leaves on tea stained wasli paper.
Aisha Khalid, ‘Pattern to Follow’, 2009, gouache and gold leaf on wasli, 126.5 x 90.5 cm. Image courtesy Corvi Mora, London.
Did the West influence Asia’s miniaturists?
From the seventeenth century, under British colonial rule, court patronage started to gradually decline and the art of Mughal miniature painting gave way to the emerging Company Painting. This new miniature style was dictated by the desires of the employees of European trading companies – especially the British East India Company – to record images of a foreign country, compiled in catalogues of exotic illustrations of flora, fauna and people floating in empty space.
Hamra Abbas, ‘Woman in Black’ (detail), 2011, stained glass. Photo by Jamal e Mustafa. Image courtesy the artist.
Iftikhar Dadi, Associate Professor of History of Art at Cornell University, identified Abdur Rahman Chughtai (1897-1975) as the first to revive Mughal miniature art in modern times. Mughal miniature painting was only formally revived in the 1980s, when the Department of Miniature Painting was institutionalised at the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore, under the guidance of pioneering artist Zahoor Ul Akhlaq (1941-1999).
Saira Wasim, ‘Lines of Confrontation’, 2010, still from video animation, gouache, gold, ink and marbling on wasli paper, duration 9 min 51 sec. Animation by Neayon Yang. Music by Chien-An Yuan. Sponsored by Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati. Image courtesy the artist.
Zahoor Ul Akhlaq was a painter, sculptor and printmaker whose practice sat between tradition and contemporaneity. He researched into the many visual traditions that criss-cross the political and geographical boundaries of Pakistan. It is at the NCA that the majority of today’s influential contemporary miniature artists have been trained in the traditional miniature art style and have gone on to teach there or in other schools around the country. These artists have gone on to re-develop, re-interpret and innovate the traditional form of miniature art.
Rashid Rana, ‘Desperately Seeking Paradise II’, 2010 – 11, detail, UV print on aluminium and stainless steel, 386.4 x 386.4 x 332.1 cm. Tiroche DeLeon collection & Art Vantage Ltd. Image from flickr.com (Cornerhouse Manchester).
Where can I see miniature art?
South Asian miniature art rose to international attention less than a decade ago, when exhibitions in international institutions were set up to introduce miniature art to a worldwide public.
Seminal exhibitions include:
Hasnat Mehmood, ‘Inflation Design’, triptych, 2011, currency notes on paper, 100 x 75 cm each. Image courtesy the artist.
Many other solo or group exhibitions of miniature art have taken place around the world, and a growing number of artists are being invited to biennales and institutional events. There also are more internationally based galleries that represent miniature artists, such as Green Cardamom, Corvi Mora, Rossi and Rossi, Gowen Contemporary, Emerge Gallery, Sutton Gallery and Aicon Gallery.
Ali Kazim, ‘Who am I?’, 2007-2008, pigments on wasli paper, 76 x 51 cm. Image courtesy the artist.
Where can I find out more about miniature art?
The most internationally recognised figure in the scholarship of miniature art is Hammad Nasar, Founder and Director of Green Cardamom and Head of Research and Programmes at Asia Art Archive. Himself from Pakistan, Nasar has extensively researched and written about miniature art in contemporary times. In the exhibition catalogue for “Kharkana”, Nasar commented that
Pakistan’s young avant-garde artists are embracing traditional mediums. Rather than embracing the colonial attitude of linear progress, they are using tradition as a means towards innovation.
Art critic, artist and curator Salima Hashmi, previously professor and head of NCA Lahore, identified the re-birth of miniature art as coinciding with “a yearning (in Pakistan) for a narrative, a linking with tradition of some kind,” as quoted by Sara Wajid in an article in Nafas Art Magazine.
Faiza Butt, ‘Mouth of you eye 1′, 2011,digital print on Duratrans film mounted as a light box, 70 x 110 cm. Image courtesy Rossi and Rossi.
In an essay titled “The ‘Expanded Field’ of Contemporary Miniature” (Nafas Art Magazine, 2010), Nasar identifies the leading figures in contemporary miniature art as Imran Qureshi, Shahzia Sikander, Nusra Latif Qureshi and Aisha Khalid, all graduates of the Miniature Painting Department of NCA. Nasar says it is thanks to these artists, who circulate in international biennales, museums and other institutions worldwide that miniature art has become an “ism” for the new generation.
In an interview with the Telegraph India, Nasar says that “these artists have taken the South Asian tradition of miniature to new heights, and then moved beyond the page to invent a new visual language, rooted in tradition but of the here and now.”
Art critic and curator Dr Virginia Whiles, Associate Lecturer at Chelsea College of Art, University of the Arts, London, and author of a seminal book about miniature art from Pakistan, said that “the very tradition of miniature painting, particularly the Mughal style which is promoted as Pakistan’s cultural heritage, has become the inspiration for some of the most radical contemporary art work in Pakistan today.”
Click here to browse a short bibliography of publications about miniature art.
Noor Ali Chagani, ‘Wall’, terracotta bricks (miniature bricks), cement and watercolour. Image courtesy Emerge Gallery.
Who are the contemporary neo-miniaturists?
Among the most famous and influential contemporary miniature artists are:
Rehana Mangi, ‘Untitled’, human hair and artificial hair on wasli paper, each 6 x 6 cm. Image courtesy Emerge Gallery.
The miniature tradition in other regions
Miniature art historically developed independent traditions, also deriving from Persian miniatures, in the neighbouring regions of South Asia, such as Central Asia and the Middle East. In contemporary art, inspiration from miniature art is visible in the artistic practices of artists working in various media. Azeri artist Rashad Alakbarov creates installations out of scrap metal and a projector that creates a shadow image on the wall in the style of traditional miniatures. In Iran (Persia in ancient times), there are numerous artists re-interpreting the style of miniature art, such as Babak Kazemi who uses photography and mixed media. Saudi Arabian artist Dana Awartani creates finely detailed work in a traditional miniature style, incorporating Islamic motifs and symbols.
Imran Mudassar, ‘Helicopter’, 201, gold leaf on board, 29 x 20 cm. Image courtesy Emerge Gallery.
These are only a few examples of artists that are inspired by miniature art. The actual scope of its influence is far reaching, and countless artists are coming up with new interpretations of the style, a growing number of them standing out as innovative and conceptually contemporary.
Waseem Ahmed, Untitled, 2009, gouache on vasli paper, 30,5 x 30,5 cm. Image courtesy Gowen Contemporary, Geneva.
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia
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Related topics: miniature art, South Asian artists, Middle Eastern and Central Asian artists, art definitions, tradition in contemporary art
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