CHP-11-HISTORY CHANGES IN ARTS

SST PPT PROJECT

What we will learn in this ppt???

Art during the colonial period was influenced by contemporary events. In this ppt we will look at the changes in visual arts and how it reflected the changes in the then Indian society and politics. The art of PAINTING will be looked into detail. We will also learn about PHOTOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, MUSIC AND DANCE and ARCHITECTURE!!

PAINTING
After the British rule was established in India, European artists began to visit India. They brought with them new styles and techniques of paintings. We call them IMPERIAL TRADITIONS . These painters popularized the technique of OIL PAINTING.

IMPERIAL TRADITIONS

OIL PAINTING

The New Traditions

Realistic Landscape Painting-In this the artists use the technique of perspective, in which nearer objects are bigger then objects that are far. Thomas Daniell and William Daniell were two famous painters of this tradition. Portrait Painting-Rich and powerful Indians and British, commissioned painters to paint their life size portraits. Historical Painting-This tradition sought to highlight various episodes of British imperial history and to glorify British victories in India.

Historical Painting

Portrait Painting

Realistic Landscape Painting

Symbolism in paintings
There was a lot of symbolism in paintings of that period. The British sought to glorify their rule through the paintings that they commissioned. In the paintings in which they showed both British and Indians, the latter was shown as inferior. Through these paintings the British sought to create an image of invincibility. In some paintings they depicted their military triumphs. Altogether all this was a propaganda by the British to show the Indians in poor light.

The Indian Response

Paintings continued under the rulers of Indian kingdoms. These rulers encourage local traditions. Tipu Sultan commissioned local artists to cover the walls of his palace with murals. In these the artists drew the scenes of Tipu Sultan and Haider Alis victories over the British.

The Court Painters

As the British annexed Indian kingdoms, the court painters lost their source of livelihood. They migrated to small regions or became associated with the British. British officials made them paint monuments etc and used the paintings to decorate their house. When they returned to Britain the took these paintings with them as a memory of their stay in India.

Popular Art
By 19th century, the painters outside the court outnumbered the court painters. Painting was particularly popular in Bengal, Kalighat. Here scroll paintings were popular. Unlike the paintings of court painters, the Kalighat paintings were inexpensive n could be bought even by the poor. Press that came up at that time also produced paintings, like Calcutta Art Studio. Also with rise of nationalism, these paintings began to carry nationalist messages.

SCROLL PAINTINGS

National Art
The late 19th century and early 20th century witnessed a further evolution of paintings. Raja Ravi Varma was a master of oil painting and he created a distinct style of his own. In Bengal, Abanindranath Tagore created a style of painting that was different from that of Raja Ravi Varma. Nandalal Bose a student of Abanindranath Tagore painted scenes from ancient legends. He used shading to give a 3-dimensional effect to the figures in his paintings.

Abanindranath Tagores painting Nandalal Boses Painting

Raja Ravi Varmas painting

PHOTOGRAPHY
The art of photography became very popular from mid-nineteenth century onwards. Europeans came to India and began popularizing photography. Felice Beato photographed India during the revolt of 1857.He and Samuel Bourne were more keen to record British military triumphs. Soon Indians also learnt photography and they started recording the rising tide of nationalism.

LITERATURE
The 19th and the 20th century saw the maturing of Indian literature. Previously it was confined to religion etc but at that time it adopted national themes. The literature of that period was influenced by Indian struggle. Literature became an instrument to promote nationalism among th people. Some famous writers of this time wereMunshi Premchand in Hindi, Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali etc. Rabindranath Tagore composed our national anthem and Bankim Chandra Chatterji our national song.

Rabindranath Tagore Bankim Chandra Chatterji

Munshi Premchand

Growth Of Press
Some of the earliest newspapers in India were started by the British. During the course of 19th century and later a powerful Indian press grew both in English and vernaculars. Some English newspapers owned by the British supported the British however most others voiced the aspirations of Indians. During freedom struggle they were a powerful force to mobilize people. Sometimes the British closed down the newspapers for supporting the Indians and killed the owner.

MUSIC AND DANCE

During that period music and dance were accepted as fine arts and became popular. Both Hindustani and Carnatic music prospered. In Bengal, Rabindra Sangeet was popular. Film music also gained popularity. Dance was popularized by Rabindranath Tagore and Uday Shankar. Tagore evolved a new dance form called Rabindra Nritya.

ARCHITECTURE
The colonization of India also had an impact on architectural styles prevalent at that time. After 1858, the British displayed a growing interest in Indian architecture. The Victoria Memorial was built to commemorate the zenith of the British Empire. Madras and Bombay also felt the impact of colonial architecture. The university of Bombay and Gateway of India were established in 1857 and 1924 respectively. They also built the majestic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus formerly Victoria Terminus.

The gateway of India The university of Bombay

Chhatrapati

Shivaji Terminus

THANK YOU
BY

Ashutosh Tikmani 8-A Roll no. 3