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Kanha
( fl c. 1580–early 1590s). Indian miniature painter. He is best known for his animal studies, which influenced Miskin and Mansur. His single illustration in the Darabnama (‘Story of Darab’; c. 1580–85; London, BL, Or. 4615, fol. 67r) presaged five designs in the Razmnama (‘Book of wars’; 1582–6; Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Mus., MS. AG. 1683–1850; fols 38–9, 114 and 115–16) and five as colourist for the master Basawan (fols 69, 95, 132 and 138–9). His colouring of Daswanth’s design for the Great Deluge (fol. 21) shows brilliant control of texture and palette in depicting the animals in the Ark, a subject and technique adapted by Miskin in the Anvar-i Suhayli (‘Lights of Canopus’; 1596–7; Varanasi, Banaras Hindu U., Bharat Kala Bhavan), the Divan (collected poems; c. 1595; Washington, DC, Freer, 48.8) of Hafiz and two other versions (priv. cols). With eight natural history studies in the first Babarnama (‘History of Babar’; c. 1590; London, V&A, I.M. 276 and A-1913 and dispersed), Kanha was the principal contributor to that section, guiding Mansur, who painted Wild Buffalo and Hog Deer (Washington, DC, Freer, 54.29r and v); he also illustrated six natural history studies in the `Aja'ib al-makhluqat (‘Wonders of creation’; c. 1590; Dublin, Chester Beatty Lib., Ind. MS. 6). However, his compositions in the first Akbarnama (‘History of Akbar’; c. 1590; London, V&A, I.S.2.1896.117; fols 12, 13, 64, 57 and 97) depict dramatic scenes of battling armies in which he developed the daring Persian device of a blank middle ground to establish psychological space and used a strong diagonal composition to expand the action beyond the margins. The absence of this great talent from later historical manuscripts and from all the literary manuscripts except a Divan of Hafiz (1588; Rampur, Raza Lib.) suggests that his career ended in the early 1590s.
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