Produced by the greatest Mughal artists of the time, these paintings offer a fascinating, detailed lens into the lives of these great rulers, Dr Julian Raby, Director of the two art galleries noted at a media preview of the exhibition Tuesday.

American-born industrialist and philanthropist, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty began creating one of the world's greatest collections of Mughal paintings at the turn of the 20th century to establish the Dublin library in 1954

Similar to their Timurid ancestors, the great Mughals had a deep appreciation for the art of the book and the expressive possibilities of the muraqqa, said Dr. Michael Ryan, Director of the Library.

Even before the death of his father Akbar, architect of the Mughal Empire and active patron of the arts, Emperor Jahangir established his own atelier and began commissioning lavish paintings that expressed his refined sensibility, as well as his own personal interests and curiosities.

Jahangir was a connoisseur who preferred a single painter to work on his images-as opposed to the collaborative painting method of his father's time-and favoured naturalistic paintings and drawings that drew on Persian, Indian and European ideals.