thumb|upright|a 1610 painting depicting the dodo ascribed to ustad mansur. this is one of the few coloured images of the dodo made from a living specimen. ustad mansur (flourished 1590-1624) was a seventeenth-century mughal painter and court artist. he grew in acclaim during the reign of jehangir (r. 1605 - 1627) during which period he excelled at depicting plants and animals. he was the earliest artist to depict the dodo in colour, apart from being the first to illustrate the siberian crane. towards the end of akbar's reign, he gained the prefix of ustad (=master) and during the reign of mughal emperor jahangir his masterpieces earned him the title of nÃ£dir-al-âasr ("unequalled of the age"). while many of mansur's paintings bear his signatures, some were copied along with the signature by others and these works are widely dispersed around the world in museum and private collections.http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/912081/a-chameleon ==life and work== thumb|left|upright|tulip from kashmir (c. 1610) by mansur naqqash the year of mansur's birth is unknown. his name was suffixed in some early miniatures as naqqash (which can refer to an artist, painter, carver) which indicates that he came from a family that was in an artistic profession.verma (1999):42 a single miniature showing 'babur meeting his sister' (folio 8, national museum) is attributed to mansur but he otherwise finds no mention in the baburnama (1598).verma (1999):43 he was associated with other artists of the period including basawan, miskina and nanha. during akbar's reign he appears to have been involved only as a colorist in the plates for the akbarnama and his name is not mentioned by abu'l-fazl among the list of artists. akbar followed the principle that all artwork includes the name of the artist on the margin. the british museum's copy of the akbarnama (1604) includes some folios (35,110a,110b and 112a) where his name is prefixed with "ustad" (=master), indicating his rise to excellence. early works included parts of portraits and other scenes. the earliest works were made as part of the baburnama (1590â95) and most of these are as an assistant or a colourist.verma (1999):42. his veena-player (c. 1595) and coronation portrait of jahangir (c. 1605, made along with the artist manohar) are early works. in 1612, jehangir received a turkey cock from goa and this was illustrated by mansur. in 1619, jehangir received a falcon (shungar) as a gift from shah abbas of persia. the falcon, identified as a barbary falcon (falco peregrinus babylonicus) was treated carelessly and was mauled by a cat, leadi
17th-century_Indian_people Animal_artists Court_painters Mughal_painters