Formal Analysis of Deccani Painting: Nujum-al-Ulum, Bijapur, India

This report provides a detailed visual analysis of the Deccani painting, Nujum-al-Ulum, commissioned by Ali Adil Shah I in 1570. The analysis examines the painting's composition, which is divided into sections with writing, a Sultan figure, and an animal. It explores the blend of Hindu and Muslim beliefs and painting styles, highlighting the miniature painting style and the integration of indigenous and foreign influences characteristic of Deccani art. The report discusses the painting's representation of societal conditions in 16th-century India and its significance within the broader context of Indian painting, referencing the Metmuseum.org and various scholarly sources to support the analysis. The painting's stylistic techniques and its integration of Hindu and Muslim elements offer an insight into the societal condition of India in the 16th century.

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
DECCANI PAINTING: AN ANALYSIS OF NAJUM-AL-ULUM (STARS OF SCIENCES)
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
As opined by Ghosh1, the Deccani painting style holds a pivotal place within the painting
traditions of the nation of India and its influence is perceptible even in the paintings painted by
the modern painters of the concerned nation. Haidar and Sardar2 are of the viewpoint that the
Deccani painting style emerged during the Bahmani Sultanate in the 14th century in the south-
western part of the nation of India. The concerned genre of painting mainly dealt with “miniature
painting” and is often considered to be a conglomeration of the indigenous painting style popular
style and the style of painting brought on by the settlers3. In this regard, it needs to be said that
one of the most important paintings related to this genre of painting was the “Nujūm-ul-ʿulūm”
or more popularly called by the name of “The Stars of the Sciences” (Refer to Appendix). The
painting shows a rich blend of the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs and traditions and also the
combination of the painting styles of both the religions. The purpose of this paper is to undertake
a visual description and analysis of the painting “Nujūm-ul-ʿulūm”.
The painting “Nujūm-ul-ʿulūm” was commissioned by Ali Adil Shah I, the ruler of
Bijapur in the year 1570 and completed in the same year4. Emma Flatt in one of her letters wrote
that the painting under discussion here shows evidence of the authorship of Ali Adil Shah I “or at
least the sixteenth-century equivalent of a celebrity ghostwriter”5. A brief look at the concerned
painting reveals the fact that it is divided into sections. The first part at the top of the painting is
1 Ghosh, Sourabh. "Portraiture in Indian Miniature Paintings." Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art &
Design 2, no. 1 (2018).
2 Haidar, Navina Najat, and Marika Sardar. Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.
3 Flatt, Emma J. The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates: Living Well in the Persian Cosmopolis. Cambridge University
Press, 2019.
4 Saini, Jyoti, and Ila Gupta. "Manifestation of Indian Miniature Style in the Paintings of Nicholas
Roerich." Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art & Design 1, no. 1 (2017).
5 Flatt, Emma J. The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates: Living Well in the Persian Cosmopolis. Cambridge University
Press, 2019.

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
the place where writing has been engraved for the educational purpose of the viewers. This as a
matter of fact, is a distinctive style of the Deccani painting wherein it had been seen that the
paintings were often treated as visual manuscripts which yield insightful information not only
regarding the painting but also about the painter as well6. The second part of the painting is the
one wherein a Muslim Sultan or individual is being portrayed pulling a string and having a good
time. Lastly, in the third section of the painting an animal is being painted which is often
considered to be a goat and the animal is in a sitting position with pseudo-wing on its back. An
interesting fact to note regarding the painting is the fact that whereas the writing section of the
painting is in black and red color the background of the second section contains decorations in
red color7. Furthermore, it is seen that the background section of the third section of the painting
is decorated in blue designs which are meant to enhance the visual appeal or for that matter the
aesthetics of the paintings.
A look at the painting make the audience realize the fact that although the painting
consists of three distinct sections yet a detailed analysis of the same reveals the fact that they are
linked together. For example, commenting on the coherence of the painting under discussion
here Haidar and Sardar8 have stated that the painting represents the unity which existed in the
nation of India during the reign of the Bijapur rulers or the Sultans. This becomes apparent from
the fact that the concerned painting tries to integrate together the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs
in a succinct by taking the help of the representative figures from the annuals of both the
6 Lopes, Rui Oliveira. "A New Light on the Shadows of Heavenly Bodies: Indian Shadow Puppets: From Still
Paintings to Motion Pictures." Religion and the Arts 20, no. 1-2 (2016): 160-196.
7 Metmuseum.Org. "Nujūm-Ul-ʿulūm". 2019. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/decc/hd_decc.htm.
8 Haidar, Navina Najat, and Marika Sardar. Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
religious orders9. For example, the goal in the sitting position is indicative of the religious
beliefs, customs, traditions and other aspects held dear by the Hindus whereas the man in the
standing position is representative of the Muslims while subtly highlighting the aspects or the
entities that are important to their way of life10.
“Nujūm-ul-ʿulūm” or “The Stars of the Sciences” is redolent with all the basic features
which made the Deccani painting style an important in the particular context of the painting
landscape of the nation of India. For example, the painting just like the other characteristic works
of the concerned painting style can be seen as a version of “miniature painting” wherein two
paintings and a manuscript are being combined together to give the final shape to the painting
under discussion here11. In addition to this, it is seen that another important feature showcased by
the concerned painting is the fact that it is a conglomeration or amelioration of the indigenous
painting style followed by the Hindus of the nation of India and the painting style which was
brought to India by the Muslim Sultans. This as a matter of fact is another important
characteristic feature of the painting style of the Deccani paintings. More importantly, a minute
or for that matter a critical analysis of the painting under discussion reveals the fact that each of
the two painting sections of the concerned painting consists of more than eight hundred
illustrations which in turn add to the visual appeal of the painting12. This is another important
usage of the technique or the style which dominated the paintings of the Deccani painting. In the
9 Saini, Jyoti, and Ila Gupta. "Manifestation of Indian Miniature Style in the Paintings of Nicholas
Roerich." Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art & Design 1, no. 1 (2017).
10 Flatt, Emma J. The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates: Living Well in the Persian Cosmopolis. Cambridge
University Press, 2019.
11 Lopes, Rui Oliveira. "A New Light on the Shadows of Heavenly Bodies: Indian Shadow Puppets: From Still
Paintings to Motion Pictures." Religion and the Arts 20, no. 1-2 (2016): 160-196.
12 Sohoni, Pushkar. "Imbrication and Implication: Early Maratha Architecture and the Deccan Sultanates." Archives
of Asian Art 68, no. 1 (2018): 33-46.

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
light of these aspects, it can be said that the painting under discussion here is not only redolent
with the important stylistic techniques of the Deccani painting but at the same time by combining
the Hindu and the Muslim elements offers an insight into the societal condition of India in the
16th century.
To conclude, the Deccani painting style holds an important place within the painting
landscape of the nation of India and wields a substantial amount of influence on the different
painters of India even in the present times. Furthermore, the painting style under discussion
showed some important characteristic techniques like miniature painting style, integration of the
indigenous and the foreign painting styles and others. These aspects of the Deccani painting style
become apparent from the above analysis of its representative painting “Nujūm-ul-ʿulūm”.

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
References
Flatt, Emma J. The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates: Living Well in the Persian Cosmopolis.
Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Ghosh, Sourabh. "Portraiture in Indian Miniature Paintings." Chitrolekha International
Magazine on Art & Design 2, no. 1 (2018).
Haidar, Navina Najat, and Marika Sardar. Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and
Fantasy. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.
Lopes, Rui Oliveira. "A New Light on the Shadows of Heavenly Bodies: Indian Shadow
Puppets: From Still Paintings to Motion Pictures." Religion and the Arts 20, no. 1-2 (2016): 160-
196.
Metmuseum.Org. "Nujūm-Ul-ʿulūm". 2019.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/decc/hd_decc.htm.
Saini, Jyoti, and Ila Gupta. "Manifestation of Indian Miniature Style in the Paintings of Nicholas
Roerich." Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art & Design 1, no. 1 (2017).
Sohoni, Pushkar. "Imbrication and Implication: Early Maratha Architecture and the Deccan
Sultanates." Archives of Asian Art 68, no. 1 (2018): 33-46.

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DECCANI PAINTING ANALYSIS
Appendix
Figure 1: Nujūm-ul-ʿulūm
Source: Metmuseum.Org