In the company of Indian masters

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Lounge ‘Festival at Thirunallar’ by Madras artist, C.1800 Summary An ongoing exhibition focuses on the diversity and complexity of the company paintings, painted by Indians for their British patrons in the 18th and 19th centuries in 2019, writer and historian William Dalrymple in the Wallacle Collection in the Wallacle. It was the first of its kind held in the United Kingdom, which compiled a rich repository of ART, known as ‘company paintings’. Very important is that the show focused on identifying as many artists as possible instead of combating them all under ‘unknown’, an orientalist shortcut that has been the standard for years, and the company paintings pushed to the anthropological curiosity, rather than fit a topic for aesthetic and art historical evaluation. A Treasury of Life: Indian Company Paintings c. 1790-1835, currently on Delhi Art Gallery (day), builds on Dalrymple’s strict work by bringing together a wide range of paintings of the company. It was composed by author and historian Giles Tillotson, and it comes with an extravagant catalog, with contributions by scholars such as Apurba Chatterjee Jennifer Howes and Malini Roy, among others. Take a look at the full image ‘a pilgrim with a wooden kavati’ by Tanjore artist, C.1822, apart from the conspiracy of works by Indian artists such as Sita Ram and Chuni Lal against European originals who may have inspired and informed their style. As Tillotson points out, the term refers to a timeframe – the 18th and 19th centuries – that made these paintings under the protection of the East India Company officers. The name should not be confused as a stylistic category that can be deduced from the deceptive but often used term, ‘Company School’. Even a volatile look at the paintings makes it clear that the company painters are invested to leave their mark, however subtle, at the work they have done, usually within a strict framework provided by their patrons, many of which used the images as scientific references to build the linen system of classification of species during this era. Take a look at the full image “a Veena player with his wife and a drummer” by Tanjore artist, C.1800 Some of the private collections-the Parlby album, Zoffany album or Fraser album, for example, as a personal memory conservation, a record of time he spent under the Exotic Flora and Fauna of the Empire. Still others were evidence of the splendor of British life in the distant colonies. A prominent example of the latter were the images of palaces and bungalows in Maidapur, a closely forgotten interface between ‘the Mughal capital of Murshidabad’ and ‘the British capital of Calcutta’, as historian Rosie Llewellyn-Jones puts it. Unlike their European peers dominated by the scenic style of landscape painting, the paintings of British residences in this region are sharply delineated, with the clinical accuracy of architectural blueprints. The Still Life paintings by the Murshidabad artists, together with images of cabinets and religious diversity of India, add freshness to the show. The paintings from the south were especially arrested, which is not seen as often as those of Bengal. Take a look at the full image ‘Asian Fairy Bluebird’ by unidentified artist, C.1810 A treasury of life is demonstrated, Delhi, until July 5. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Features Mint Specials