Question

Miniature painting is the style of drawing pictures like the pictures in books.
A. True
B. False

Answer 1

Hint: Miniature paintings are paintings in small scale. It is an ancient art which had different schools like Rajputs, Deccan and Mughals.

Complete answer:
The Miniature painting is the style of drawing pictures like the picture in books and it is true. They are handmade and are much smaller than any normal painting. These paintings were done on items which were perishnable like paper, cloth, leaves etc. To be considered as a miniature painting the painting has to be less than 25 square inches or less than 100 square cm. Examples include Tutinama and Hamzanama.

The features of miniature paintings are:
1. The colours of these paintings were also handmade and obtained from vegetable peels, pure gold and silver and conch shells.
2. These paintings were associated with the Indian classical music.
3. The paintings gave a perception of the life of the royals and common man. The beauty of the women folk were also captured in the brilliant devotion and inspirations of the artists.
During the 17th century AD, in the western Indian Himalayas miniature paintings were first taking form. These paintings were said to be influenced by mural paintings of the 8th century. At first they were done on palm leaves and then were shifted to paper. The themes of the paintings were Krishna Lila(the playfulness of Krishna), Raga raginis (Musical melodies), Ritu chitra (seasons) and Panchatantra.

Option A is the correct answer.

Note: In the Mughal period these miniature paintings were shifted to the portraits and richness of colour effects in the Persian style. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was a great patron of miniature paintings. However after his rule, these paintings declined in the 18th century.