Flora and fauna is stupendously depicted in art of the Mughal School. While
flowers were a common motif and an integral part of design in Indian art
from very early times, it was only with the emergence of the Mughal School
that they became subjects of paintings, rather than embellishments.
This rare botanical painting of exquisite beauty has meticulously drawn
twigs with leaves, buds and flowers in a variety of arrangement. The
naturalistic treatment of the plant's structure, with even the minutest
knots and bulges, and the leaves displaying mid-ribs with parallel venation
is thoroughly maintained. The accuracy of its detail can be seen in the bend
of the stems, the drawing of the leaves and also the various stages of
flowering from bud to full blossom. The plant also bears some kind of a
fruit at which the birds are pecking at. The grass at the base of the plant
is bright green. The artist has used various shades of green in the painting
but none clash. He has deftly avoided any monotony creeping into the
painting. There is movement in an otherwise stationary picture. This has
been attained with the help of two parrots hovering over the plant. They
also intensify the naturalistic impact of the flower study through the
addition of ecological harmony that exists in nature. A somewhat
disproportionate size of the parrots arrest the eye a bit oddly and thereby
hampers the effect of the graceful, proud rise of the flower. The pale
background helps in brightening up in relief the flowering plant as a whole
as well as enhance its vertical movement.
The painting is framed at the top and bottom by calligraphic embellishments.
This description by Renu Rana.
Peintures
