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Ghulam Ali Khan was a nineteenth century Indian painter in Delhi.[1] His painting career took place over the course of more than four decades, from 1817 to 1852.[2] He was the last royal Mughal painter, and also painted in the Company style for British patrons.[3]
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Ghulam Ali Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | c. 19th century |
| Known for | Topographical paintings, portraits |
| Notable work |
|
| Style | Company style |
Ghulam Ali Khan was born in the late eighteenth century.[4] At this time, Shah Alam II presided over the Mughal Empire, but in 1803 the British occupied Delhi.[5] Khan grew up and worked in a society that included Mughal and British cultures. He was the nephew of noted Mughal painter, Ghulam Murtaza Khan.[6]
Ghulam Ali Khan was the court painter of Mughal emperors Akbar II (reigned 1806–1837 CE) and Bahadur Shah II (reigned 1837–1858 CE) in Delhi.[4] As well as working for the royal Mughal court, Ghulam Ali Khan received commissions from British officers in the East India Company -- particularly Colonel James Skinner and officer William Fraser -- and from regional courts, such as the court of Jhajjar and Alwar. His artwork conveyed picturesque aesthetics and incorporated a Mughal painting style (such as in royal portraiture)[5] with the more European Company Style.
Painting Members of the Mughal Court
In the nineteenth century there was a shift in Mughal manuscript iconography that gave greater emphasis to architectural representation.[5] The first artwork attributed to Ghulam Ali Khan is The Diwan-i Khan in the palace in the Delhi Fort [Red Fort] from 1817.[4] The red tent in this watercolor serves as a stand-in for the emperor in his absence. He was a formal court painter since 1827 when he produced portraits for Akbar II and his son Mirza Salim.[2] Khan signed these two portraits as "His Majesty's Painter" and "His Majesty's devoted faithful servant."[4] A decade later in 1837 Khan painted the accession portraits of Bahadur Shah with his sons[2] where they are set against the backdrop of the fireplace from the Zafar Mahal.[7] He collaborated on the Portraits of the Exalted Emperors, producing the visual imperial genealogy in 1851.[4] Other subject matter included painting high class courtesans, tawaifs, such as those featured in Mirza Fakhruddin entertained by musicians in a salon at the Zafar Mahal, 1852.[2]
Painting Beyond the Mughal Court
In 1827, Khan worked on a three-part painting series for Colonel Skinner memorializing portraits of Skinner's cavalry for a private album.[4] These paintings were done in watercolor and gouache.[2] Khan painted for Skinner again completing a portrait of the colonel in 1830.[4] He participated in the Fraser Album project which was a collection of Delhi genre paintings.
Ghulam Ali Khan's patronage continued expanding beyond Delhi especially in the 1840s.[2] From 1840-1853, Khan participated in the illuminating of the Gulistan (also known as the Golestan) manuscript for the Raja of Alwar. In the meantime, from 1840-1845 Khan also completed the watercolor of the Alwar gaddi for Banni Singh.[4] He painted other commissions for the Alwar court, and he taught at the Alwar school of painting. His compositions featured the Nawab'Abd al-Rahman Khan (e.g. Nawab 'Abd al-Rahman Khan in court with the envoy of the Raja of Alwar, Capt. Alexander Heatherly, 1852) and the Nawab of Jhajjar (such as in Nawab of Jhajjar astride a pet tiger, 1849-50).[2]
A tiger hunt, 1820 (Victoria & Albert Museum)
Thakur Dawlat Singh among Courtiers, 1825 (David Collection)
View of the Red Fort, from Sketches of The Delhee Palace & Delhee, 1854
Kala, the Sepoy, with Saber Drawn and in Uniform. Two miniatures from the Fraser Album, from the workshop of Ghulam Ali Khan Family. Delhi, 1815-1816. The David Collection
Five Recruits - Ummee Chund, Indur, Goolzaree, Kukhtawur, and Juhaz; from the Fraser Album, ca. 1816 (Freer Gallery)
Portrait of Akbar II, 1827 (British Library)
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