Wazir Khan Mosque Case Study

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Introduction
The Wazir Khan Mosque, an epitome of the Mughal fresco art, has fascinated me to such an extent that I have chosen it as my personal study topic. I have always had a considerable interest in various architectural structures. I came to know of the exquisite frescos of this lavishly decorated mosque during the start of my A level when I among some of my batch mates decided to take part in a wall painting competition. Our topic was the culture and traditions of Pakistan so we decided to paint a view from a mosque.
During my research I came across many buildings with fresco art e.g. the Badshahi mosque, Jahangir’s tomb, etc but the lavish motifs of the Wazir Khan mosque grabbed my attention immediately. Subsequently, my keen interest for old monuments became attached to special admiration for the “frescos” of The Wazir Khan Mosque. I found the minute details, the patterns and the perfect play of geometry of the frescos very enthralling. In my essay, I am going to closely study the Wazir khan Mosque, paying special attention to the meticulous fresco work, focusing on patterns and geometric shapes, as well as talking about frescoes around the world. It would also be followed by the interview of the master of fresco art in Pakistan: Ustad (teacher) Rafaqat who, along with others, is a force behind the revival of Fresco Art in Pakistan.

Discovering Wazir Khan
My Visit to the Wazir Khan Mosque
On my visit to the Wazir Khan Mosque I was astonished to know that such an appealing structure stands in busy bazaar (market), where all sorts of traffic are running, with a hustle and bustle of people. But when I entered the mosque it was so peaceful and charismatic in contrasting to the blaring bazaar around. Looking at the mosqu...

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...gs in the subcontinent have been use to decorate the Mosques, Mausoleum, Temples and Stupas. There are paintings from the Buddhist period in the ancient Ajanta Caves telling the stories of Ghutam Buddha and his teachings.
Other prominent buildings of the Mughal era are: Red fort (Lal quila) built in 1638-1648 in Old Delhi-India and Badshahi Mosque built in 1671-1673 in Lahore-Pakistan.
In Lahore, Pakistan: Mughal Fresco paintings are found on the walls of many buildings like the Badshahi mosque, Shahi QIla, Wazir Khan Mosque, Maryam Zamani Masjid and the Shalimar garden. These paintings are of fruits, trees, flowers, plants and geometric shape as Islam forbids the drawing of human life. In Pakistan, artists like Ustad Rafaqat, Ustad Saif-ur-Rehman along with many others are working towards the promotion, preservation and revival of this dying art.

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