Emperor Jehangir was interested in nature and under him the laying of gardens, paintings of nature flourished.
The most famous of his painters was Mansur who was called Ustad for his mastery and was bestowed the title Nadir-ul-‘Asr (“Miracle of the Age”) by the Emperor.
Jehangir often took Mansur on his travels with him, to document the flora and fauna of the area.
Jahangir’s memoirs state that during a trip into the Kashmir Valley Mansur painted over 100 flowers. Only one flower painting is found which is signed by him.
His paintings of birds and animals are also often unsigned, but his skill is always unmistakable, and Jahangir’s praise often helps to identify the artist.
Mansur painted the first turkey which entered India as a gift.
But his most important painting is that of the dodo an extinct bird. He made the painting from looking at the actual bird.
