Basawan

Basawan (also Basavan, Basavana, Baswan; * unknown; † after 1600) was a player in the second half of the 16th century Indian miniature painters. He came from a Hindu family. First, students of the Persian -born master Abd as- Samad at the school of painting of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605 ), he went himself later on become one of the leading artists of Akbar's court. After the death of the painter Daswanth 1585 he took over the management of the Imperial ateliers. His own death date is unknown. From about 1600 his name no longer appeared on the edge inscriptions of Mughal miniatures. Basawan was the father of the miniaturist Manohar.

Basawan created numerous illustrations for Persian manuscripts, as well as single sheets. Among his most important early works include miniatures for, also known as " parrot book" Persian history collection Tutinama, the adventure novel Hamzanama and belonging to the Persian king epic Shahnama Darabnama. An unambiguous assignment of individual plants to Basawan is often not possible since the time of Akbar, many miniatures were designed as community work, for which Basawan especially making designs and outline drawings. The highlight of his career he reached in the 1580s. His refined late style ( among other miniatures to the ruler chronicles Baburnama and Akbarnama ) is characterized by a very accurate observation of nature, particularly animals in their natural environment, from. Formative for the later development of Mughal painting under Akbar's successors Jahangir (r. 1605-1627 ) had his portraits of important historical and contemporary figures, which he represented three-quarter or full- profile mostly in. Basawans works seem plastic and spatial than the other artists of his time. In this respect, they pre-empt the more realistic style of Jahangir time. There are influences from European Art apparent that at the beginning of the second half of the 16th century - even before the posting of a Portuguese Jesuit mission to the court of Akbar in 1580 - mainly achieved in the form of graphs and engravings India and the Mughal court a certain appreciation learned. So were probably already the European graphics created in 1560 Folia Basawans to Tutinama as role models.

Source

• Gunter Meissner ( Lim. ): artists of the world ( Volume 7: Barbieri - Bayona ). KG Saur Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-598-22747-7.