Indian art has traditionally manifested through magnificent architecture, wall murals, cave paintings, and the nuanced intricacies of miniature paintings. These exquisite works, intended for private indulgence rather than public display, offered an intimate and tactile connection with art, extending beyond mere visual appreciation.
Each stroke and detail in a miniature painting holds deep significance, guiding the viewer on a journey of discovery where every element contributes to a broader narrative that transcends the artwork’s physical bounds. Often depicting epics, tales of kingship, religious texts, and poetry, these works are rooted in manuscript traditions, from the Pala tradition in the East to Jain manuscripts in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the West.
With the arrival of Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd-as-Samad, invited by Humayun to establish the Mughal atelier, a northern stream of this tradition emerged. These diverse influences shaped a unique, intricate painting style that flourished across the subcontinent, in Mughal, Deccani, and Rajput courts, from the hills to the plains.
The making of these jewel-like works involved meticulous collaboration within ateliers, engaging master artists, apprentices, colourists, calligraphers, burnishers, and papermakers. Natural materials formed their palette: colours were derived from minerals and plants, while paper (‘warqa’) was crafted from hemp fibre and layered into durable ‘wasli’. Rarely credited to a single hand, these pieces reflected collective craftsmanship.
The decline of miniature painting under British colonialism reflected cultural, economic, and technological shifts. Once central to Mughal grandeur, it lost patronage as British tastes and technologies prevailed. The emergence of photography and the popularity of Western-influenced painters like Raja Ravi Varma, along with the rise of mass-produced lithographs, diminished the demand for labour-intensive miniatures. These works were increasingly reduced to tourist curios, catering to Western tastes.
Despite these shifts, the legacy of miniature painting continued to inspire artists across undivided India. Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, and Abdur Rahman Chughtai drew upon it, blending local aesthetics with modern ideologies. Their work, aligned with nationalist sentiment and the independence movement, sought to reclaim indigenous visual identity. Art schools in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Lahore, while originally Western in focus, laid the groundwork for this shift.
Abanindranath Tagore’s Bengal School championed a quasi-oriental style that reinvigorated Mughal and Rajput painting methods. His vision of modernism countered colonial influence and symbolised a cultural reawakening. Under his mentorship, artists like Nandalal Bose and Asit Haldar led a generation in redefining Indian modern art. Jamini Roy, while influenced by Western techniques, revived folk and village traditions, merging them with contemporary styles.
This revival spread further, Chughtai and Allah Bux in Lahore adapted miniature styles with Islamic themes, reflecting a developing Muslim nationalist identity. In India, miniature art found modest support through government craft programs, workshops, and tourism exports. Regional styles like Rajput and Pahari endured through hereditary lineages, while in Pakistan, support transitioned to individual urban artists. As traditional knowledge waned, institutions such as the National College of Arts (NCA) formalised miniature training. Led by Haji Muhammad Sharif and Zahoor ul-Akhlaq, the program nurtured artists like Waseem Ahmed, Imran Qureshi, and Shahzia Sikander.
In India, prominent artists such as Nilima Sheikh profoundly reshaped miniature painting. A self-taught artist inspired by pre-modern and Asian visual traditions, Sheikh embraced narrative storytelling from pattachitra and manuscript art. Her series When Champa Grew Up (1984) used traditional materials, tempera on wasli paper with gum Arabic, rooted in Rajasthani and Pahari techniques, to narrate the haunting tale of a young girl suffering domestic abuse.
The miniature painting tradition continues to shape the context of Indian visual art, with contemporary artists inheriting and reimagining its legacy in multiple ways. Devil is in the Details examines how contemporary practitioners engage with the language of miniature painting—some adopting its techniques, others drawing from its motifs, palettes, and narrative structures.
Classical works are presented alongside the contemporary, allowing viewers to see what is retained, what is transformed, and what acquires new meaning in translation. The exhibition spans a wide range of media, from textiles and metalwork to papercuts and paintings. By placing classical works in dialogue with their contemporary counterparts, the show invites a deeper understanding of how miniature painting’s visual and conceptual vocabulary continues to evolve.