The Nativity of Christ

The British visited India several times before Jahangir’s ascendancy in 1605AD, but it was during his reign that they began to grasp Indian’s economy and polity and intruded into her social and cultural life and in her art. After the British succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the Mughal emperor who reciprocated their moves, the artists began to paint themes that received appreciation from the imperial guests whose opinion even the emperor valued. Besides, they brought for the emperor, paintings from Europe, especially of Albrecht Durer’s Madonna and Christ. This had a definite impact on the minds of Jahangir’s court artists. As a result, while rendering their own themes they could not escape the European influence on their paintings, and so also tried to render Christian themes.

This painting depicts the popular nativity of Christ. The theme is rendered with the traditional serenity of the occasion and as per details associated with the event. However, the court artist has set the scene in a Mughal palace, not corroborated with the traditional setting of Christ’s birth. The ritual and mythological part of the painting is in almost exact adherence to the beliefs of Christianity. The touch of the late Mughal style is clearly seen in the anatomy of the figures, the grandeur of the palace and the floral designs of the carpet.