Mughal Influences in Eastern India and Western Europe

From the early 16th century through the mid-18th century, the Mughal dynasty reigned over most of northern India. The Empire was significant in uniting nearly the whole Indian subcontinent under one realm. It was well renowned for its cultural influence, mostly on the Indian subcontinent, but it also had minor influences in Europe. In the first section of this essay, I explore the influence of Mughal art on European art, notably Dutch art, and in the second section, I discuss Mughal influence in Bengal, providing evidence from architectural, musical, artistic, and literary influences.

Mughal Images in Europe and their Influence on Western European Art

During the 15th and 16th centuries, both commercial and scholastic interest in Asia blossomed in the Netherlands. Because of the Dutch East India Company's expanding economic links with Asia, Asian items and people were a common sight in Leiden and Amsterdam, which surpassed Antwerp as the major trading centre in Northern Europe (Filipczak 164). Some pieces of Indian art made their way to the ports of Western Europe. A portrait of Jahangir, along with paintings of Prince Khurram (the future Shah Jahan) and a turban-garbed woman identified in an inscription as "[Jahangir's] woman slave," found inclusion in Samuel Purchas's Purchas His Pilgrimes, a multivolume repository of travellers' accounts (Subrahmanyam 68). To underline the artefactual character of the portrayal, the artist even replicated the Persian inscription written in Jahangir's own hand that had appeared on the original. During the prior decade, the same Mughal painting of Jahangir may have served as a model for a bust study done by the English engraver Renold Elstrack (Subrahmanyam 68). The Purchas and Elstrack prints are most likely the work of English envoy Sir Thomas Roe, who most likely purchased the imperial paintings while in attendance at the Mughal court between 1615 and 1619 (Rice 62). In the 17th century, copying Indian art was exceptional but not unheard of in the Netherlands. Willem Schellinks, a Dutch painter, created a handful of replicas of Indian art. He was drawn to unusual imagery, which he translated into oil paintings in his unique way. The originals' principal appeal for Schellinks resided in the miniaturist's creative braiding of acrobatic humans to construct the bodies of animals (Filipczak 163). Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a significant figure in this ongoing exchange process, and I address here some of the creative techniques implemented by him while imitating Mughal art.

Several interpretations for Rembrandt's copying have been given, the most frequently recognised being that Rembrandt desired information about unusual clothes (Filipczak 168). Given the generalising method in which he drew most of the copies, as well as the minimal incorporation of clothes he did record into his own works, classifying his more than twenty Mughal copies as costume studies is, at best, incomplete. Rembrandt may have begun the copying for knowledge on clothes and customs, but he must have had another motive to continue even if it yielded little new information. What the replicas stress and omit reveals that his major focus remained on the figures' positions and motions. He could find support for the path his own art had been taking in the Mughal miniatures (Filipczak 163). Rembrandt's paintings contain scattered examples of Mughal dress — or rather, pieces of Mughal clothes — such as in Haman and Ahasuerus at the Feast of Esther. Haman, seated at the table with Ahasuerus and Esther, wears a modest Indian turban for compositional and expressive purposes, making him appear less substantial than the Persian monarch in his imposingly huge turban, as worn by Turks and Persians. Potiphar, an Egyptian, wears a Mughal robe with a Persian turban in Joseph Accused by Potiphar's Wife (Goetz 73). Exposure to the miniatures appears to have influenced Rembrandt's approach to decorating turbans, in which he apparently had great interest (Houbraken 261). Throughout his career, if he inserted a feather in his paintings, he did so asymmetrically, as was customary in the 17th century. Mughal miniatures, on the other hand, regularly employed a centred location, and Rembrandt did the same once he completed the reproductions, as with the stiff egret feather in The Disgrace of Haman (Filipczak 168–169).

In terms of style, Rembrandt utilised his usual materials of pen and bistre, which make the reproductions a compromise compared to the originals. He drew more controlled, finer lines than usual, as if attempting to strike a balance between his own impulsive style and the neatness of the originals. Although the outlines of the miniatures are crisp, narrow, and continuous, Rembrandt shattered his, connecting the shapes with the surrounding space. He updated the barely sculpted method of his models with regions of wash on the figures and notably on their backgrounds. Areas of detailed patterning are common in Mughal miniatures, but a summary technique predominates in Rembrandt's replicas. He never matched the originals' palette, but in a few drawings, faint traces of red and yellow chalk hint at the originals' colours (Filipczak 170).

Rembrandt's copies of Mughal figures appear curiously stiff and repetitive. Except for an archer who advances forward, none of the characters are in motion; instead, they stand or sit calmly. Even though women feature in a large number of Mughal miniatures, just two of Rembrandt's late copies are known to feature women. One surviving specimen, a bust-length image of an unnamed woman, has less detail and is smaller than the other copies. The second specimen is Woman with a Pink, with a pearl hanging on the woman's forehead. According to evidence obtained, Rembrandt saw how Mughal men stood and walked. He concentrated on the general forms and attitudes of their bodies by separating the figures from any setting, neutralising their backdrop, and simplifying their attire (Filipczak 172). The statues appear immobile, and each gesture sticks out. Furthermore, the wide usage of the profile draws attention to the hand of the figure that reaches beyond the primary silhouette. Although Rembrandt was probably unaware of which postures and hand positions had symbolic importance in Indian culture, he was aware that some had become typical due to their repetition. Mukula — the fingers bent upward with the palm tilted up, such that the major grabbing digits meet at the tips — is a recurring hand motion that he duplicated multiple times. Whatever the fingers are holding, they remain erect in a way that suggests fragility as well as show. In the European pictorial tradition, there is no gesture comparable to the mukula. In Indian culture, this posture of the fingers represented a flower bud, making it suitable for holding a flower, as seen in several Mughal miniatures. Rembrandt also incorporated the gesture into an allegorical etching depicting a skeletal Death emerging from a tomb to face stylish newlyweds holding hands. The use of this uncommon action in Death and the Newlyweds emphasises the symbolic function of the flower held by the young woman precisely above the hourglass that Death thrusts at the young couple (Filipczak 175).

Rembrandt became intrigued by the juxtaposition of two figures oriented toward each other while copying. In the uncommon oil on canvas showing Shah Jahan receiving an address, Rembrandt focuses on the two men facing each other, removing the arboreal and architectural environment save for the throne (Filipczak 181). Despite the scarcity of compositions with only two characters in Mughal art, Rembrandt's copy includes five pictures of two men facing one another — the majority of the pairings created when Rembrandt brought a person from one miniature to confront someone from another.

It is unknown whether Rembrandt encountered Mughal album paintings as individual pieces or within the framework of a collection, but close familiarity with works from an unfamiliar cultural tradition aided Rembrandt in expanding his plethora of postures and expressions beyond the European tradition in which he prospered. Rembrandt established a subtle expressiveness that encourages an interiorised viewing experience by showing individuals in constrained stances like those he learned from Mughal miniatures.

Mughal Influences on Bengali Culture

Through the examples cited in this section, I demonstrate how the cultural influences of the Mughal empire in Bengal — as well as some of the changes that accompanied them — were largely initiated by local kings and zamindars as a way of honouring the Mughals for their monetary aid and assisting them to prosper. The cultural aspects developed during the process of mutual exchange and the ensuring of stability within the Mughal governmental structure in Bengal.

The Mughal army defeated Daud Khan Kararni, the Afghan king of Bengal, at the Battle of Tukaroi in March 1575, resulting in Bengal's formal incorporation into the Mughal empire. However, Mughal rule over Bengal took decades of campaigning to gain any kind of effective power. Certain regions in Bengal were subject to the jurisdiction of local chieftains known as bhuiyans or rajas during the sultanate government that preceded the Mughal government, who maintained great autonomy over their areas, making the process much more difficult (K. Chatterjee, "Mughal Culture in Bengal" 2). Murshid Quli Khan, who is supposed to have promoted the establishment of a few large zamindaris, is credited for greatly expanding the Mughal position in Bengal beginning in the early 17th century. He also advocated for the establishment of new zamindaris under the supervision of reputable authorities. Following Murshid Quli Khan, the Bengal nawabs distributed their own jagir gifts to selected persons throughout their kingdom to build alliances with particular groups (Karim 49). On maritime battles, the Mughals relied on the sheer enormity and strength of their war-boats, the boats supplied by vassal zamindars, the skill of the artillery housed in the boats, and the maintenance of the vessels (Roy 171). With the formal absorption of Bengal into the Mughal empire in the late 16th century, Mughal cultural influences joined the various indigenous cultural practices already present in this region (K. Chatterjee, "Mughal Culture in Bengal" 2).

The Malla rulers of Bengal's Bishnupur district reaped significant benefits from the Mughal relationship and were elevated to the rank of important associates of the incoming Mughal kings. The rajas of Bishnupur were intended to guard Bengal's forested south-western border against Afghans entrenched in Orissa. The Mughals allowed them autonomy over their patrimonial lands in exchange for embracing Mughal overlordship and paying homage. The Malla kings received huge landed estates and fortresses at the request of the Mughals, allowing them to dramatically expand their kingdom's territorial borders (K. Chatterjee, "Cultural Flows" 152). In response, the Malla rulers supported Muslim saints and holy men and granted rent-free property to Muslim people (Mallik 37). This association resulted in the Malla kingdom's cultural flowering in the late 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries (K. Chatterjee, "Cultural Flows" 151).

The temples of Bishnupur were built in the Mughal style, with Khilan (pillar), Volt, Trikhilan doors (piers and pillars), terracotta decoration, and Kiosks (light open pavilions). The Mughal hat, shoes, garment (jama–pyjama), and Jahangiri crown are prominently depicted. Hawk hunters, a ruler with a bird in his hand, and political events such as the Portuguese war are shown on the Jorbangla temple, which was built during the reign of Shah Jahan. Brick temples of the post-Mughal era at Bishnupur also followed Mughal architecture — for example, the squint kind of design on the octangular and circular domical wall was built step by step with bricks. Aside from that, the Dalmadal Canon's architecture, which is based on the famous canons of Kale Khan and Jahan Kasan of Murshidabad, demonstrates a Mughal influence (N. Chatterjee 94).

Bishnupur was also associated with the Bishnupur gharana, a style of Hindustani classical music that demonstrates the fusion of Vaishnava belief systems, Rajasthani religious and administrative culture, and Mughal courtly culture (K. Chatterjee, "Cultural Flows" 173). Song anthologies held by the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad's Bishnupur branch included compositions dedicated to Mughal nobles such as Bairam Khan and Todar Mal, as well as emperors such as Jahangir. Bishnupur's dhrupad music reached a more darbar-oriented phase with the arrival of legendary vocal musician Bahadur Khan — a direct descendant of Mian Tansen himself — from the Mughal darbar in Delhi in the 18th century (K. Chatterjee, "Cultural Flows" 175).

The alliance between Bishnupur and the Mughal Nawabs also resulted in the establishment of direct contacts between the Malla rulers and Rajput mansabdars, notably with Raja Man Singh and his family. As a result, we observe the inclusion of Rajasthani aesthetic traits in Bishnupur paatachitras, supported with depictions of Rajasthani or Mughal dress. Mughal or Rajasthani apparel, particularly for men, was connected with courtly and non-religious public events (K. Chatterjee, "Cultural Flows" 172). Apart from the Malla kings, the nawabs of Murshidabad also honoured Muslim holy men and scholars, as well as Persian poets and writers, and their patronage of artists aided the development of the Murshidabad kalam, a Murshidabad-based style of painting, during the 18th century (K. Chatterjee, "Mughal Culture in Bengal" 4).

Mangal-Kavyas were Bengali Hindu religious literature containing stories of local deities from rural Bengal. There are several examples in the Mangal Kavyas of the Mughals being present but not as persecutors. Rather, the literature illuminates the Mughals' successful government, and Mughal emperors were well esteemed and revered by contemporary Bengali Hindu authors. In his Mangalchandir Geet, possibly written in the 1640s, Madhabacharya alludes to Akbar as 'Ekbar Badshah, Arjuna Avatara.' Krishnaram Das, a poet, compared Emperor Aurangzeb to the ideal king of India's epic history, 'Ram raja' (Sen 2). The arrival of Islam in Bengal may have acted as a wake-up call to Brahminism to seek out and undertake measures of accommodation with a variety of religious practices and concepts widespread among the Antyaja (subaltern) population. As a result, several Brahmins worked to establish a vernacular Mangalkavya tradition (Sircar 38), giving the Antyaja a place in writing — resulting in the incorporation of the gods Manasa and Chandi into Bengali literature (Rahman 271).

Mughals impacted several cultural aspects of Bengali people's life while securing a strong political foothold in the region, as evidenced by the examples discussed in this essay. The influences have permeated Bengali culture and may still be found today.

Works Cited

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