Examine the factors that led to development of two genres of Imperial Mughal art and Provincial Mughal art during the medieval India.

Mughal courtiers and the provincial officers were inspired by their overlords and therefore started patronizing the artists trained in the Mughal technique of painting.
The artists with inferior merits lost their jobs and sought employment in the provinces. Thus, during those times, the artists who were employed in the Imperial Government were known as the first grade artists. The works accomplished by these first grade artists is known as the Imperial Mughal Painting.
But the artists available to the provinces were of inferior merit, thus, the works accomplished in the provinces was known as ‘Popular Mughal’ or ‘Provincial Mughal’ painting, which possessed all the important characteristics of the Imperial Mughal painting with some inferior quality. The example paintings of the provincial Mughal paintings are Razm-nama, Rasikapriya and Ramayana, all of which were created in the initial two decades of 17th century.

Topics: GS-I: Indian Art Forms