The kingdom of Mewar resisted Mughal suzerainty for the longest time and eventually accepted Mughal authority during the reign of Shah Jahan. The capital of Mewar shifted from Ranthambhore and Chittorgarh, after the fall of these forts, to temporary bases in the wilderness. Later, during more peaceful times, the city of Udaipur was established. The rulers of Mewar continued to patronise art even during periods of adversity, though the years of relative peace and prosperity witnessed an extraordinary flowering of artistic activity.
Early Mewar painting is dominated by the remarkable figure of the artist Sahibdin. This phase focused on his illustrations of literary texts such as the Rasikapriya, the Ramayana, and the Bhagavata Purana. After Sahibdin’s death, the style of Mewar painting underwent a change, with greater emphasis on depictions of court life. A unique feature of this later phase is the extraordinary tamasha paintings, which portray court ceremonies and city views in unprecedented detail.