THE ART OF INDIAN, MUGHAL & PERSIAN MINIATURE PAINTING

The introduction of The Art of Indian, Mughal & Persian Miniature Painting, as an independent programme under the umbrella of The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts is aimed at preserving the traditionalist techniques of this practice and of ensuring their safe transmission into the 21st century.

London, one of the world’s great capitals of art and culture and home to the finest collections of miniature paintings and manuscripts is an ideal venue for the course.

The Programme:

Five different courses, all based on practical exercises, will introduce and develop the practice of the miniature and cover the basis of its historical theory. These five courses are:


 Miniature Painting for Beginners

This course is suitable for those who have little or no background in painting or drawing.
Students will be given basic materials and guided through the reproduction of an existing miniature painting in accordance with the traditional method of teaching this form of painting. At the end of the course, the students would have a basic practical understanding of how miniature paintings are composed and executed.


 Advanced Level Miniature Painting

This course is suitable for those coming from a fine arts background, including degree, diploma or foundation course in drawing or related discipline.
Admission for this course is selective. Applicants are required to submit a portfolio of five to seven images of previous work.
The course gives students a practical grounding in the traditional technique of miniature painting including the preparation and treatment of wasli (the ground for the painting); pigments and their use; the polishing and burnishing of paper; gilding; and the making of brushes from squirrel-hair.
Students are expected to practice these techniques in reproducing an existing miniature painting during the course.


 Drawing (basic /elementary to advance level)

This course is open to students with a background in drawing. Admission for the course is selective. Applicants are required to submit a portfolio of five to seven drawings.
Drawing in the miniature genre is a highly imaginative and refined practice. Students in this course will be guided in drawing exercises reproducing older works and drawing from life.
Students will be taught to draw with the brush, not pen or pencil, and how to translate three-dimensional drawings to two-dimensional by using different drawing and denotation systems. This course will be of particular interest for those with a passion for drawing and design and can help develop an eye for extreme detail. (This course is a long term course and only available to those who are willing to put in effort and time).


 Portrait Painting (basic /elementary to advance level)

This course teaches portrait painting in the miniature style. Admission for this course will be based on a submitted portfolio of five to seven images of drawing-based work done previously.
The course will begin with the reproduction of existing portraits found in historical miniature paintings and eventually move on to painting portraits based on the student’s own compositions.


 Narratives in Miniature Painting (basic /elementary to advance level)

Indo-Persian miniatures from the 13th to the 16th centuries were produced almost exclusively as part of the illuminated manuscripts of the era, making the narrative in miniature painting a key part of the art form. This course builds on this tradition, giving students practical guidance in producing a miniature which will form part of a book illustration. Students gain an understanding of the unfolding narrative in painting by reproducing older miniature works.
The aim is to give students enough understanding of how this is done to allow them to illustrate narratives in books. Students will be given an opportunity to use the miniature form to illustrate not only traditional scenes from the miniature tradition but also contemporary Western narratives including anything from fairy tales to political events.


Next Summer School July/August 2011 at the Prince's School in London
For course details, etc. please check: http://www.psta.org.uk/publicprogramme/ 

Person to contact:

Margot Stone

0044 207613 8532