History Solution Class 8 Chapter 10 The Changing World of Visual Arts

10. The Changing World of Visual Arts

Facts that Matter

·         A lot of changes came in the world of visual arts during the British period in India.

·         Colonial rule introduced many new art forms, styles, materials and techniques which were creatively adapted by Indian artists for local patrons and markets, in both elite and popular circles.

·         A stream of European artist, who came to India from the 18^th century, brought with them new styles and conventions of painting. The pictures that they produced shaped Western perceptions of India.

·         These artists introduced the idea of realising. This was based on careful observation and faithful defection of scenes which they saw with their own eyes.

·         The technique of oil painting, which was a new thing for the Indian artists, was also introduced. This type of painting enabled artists to produce images that looked real.

·         The European artists chose varied subjects for their paintings but they never missed to emphasise the superiority of Britain-its culture and its people, its power.

·         Picturesque landscape painting was a popular imperial tradition. This style of painting depicted India as a quaint land, to be explored by travelling British artists, its landscape was rugged and wild, seemingly untamed by human hands. Thomas Daniell and his nephew William Daniell painted within this tradition. They produced of the most evovative picturesque landscape of Britains newly conquered regions in India.

·         Portrait painting was another tradition of art in colonial India. The portraits were life size images that looked life like and real. The size of the paintings itself projected the importance of the patrons who commissioned these portraits.

·         Portraits painting became famous. As a result many European portrait painters came to India in search of profitable commissions. The name of Johann Zoffany is worth mentioning in this connection.

·         The third category of imperial art is known as history painting. This tradition sought to dramatise and recreate various episodes of British imperial history.

·         British victories in India provided a rich material for history painters in Britain. These paintings once again celebrated the British, their power, their victories, their supremacy.

·         Imperial history paintings sought to create a public memory of imperial triumphs.

·         Different courts had different trends, in Mysore, Tipu Sultan not only taught the British on the battlefield but also resisted the cultural traditions associated with them. He continued to encourage local traditions and had the walls of his palace at Seringapatam covered with rural paintings done by local artists.

·         The court of Murshidabad had a different trend. Here, after defeating Sirajuddaulah the British had successfully installed their puppet Nawabs (Mir Zafar and Mir Qasim) on the throne. The court at Murshidabad encouraged local miniature artists to absorb the tastes and artistic styles of the British.

·         As the British established their power in India, several local courts lost their influence and wealth. They could no longer support painters and pay them to paint for the court. As a result, many painters turned to the British, who welcomed them.

·         British officials wanted images through which they could understand India, remember their life in India and depict India to the Western world. Local painters got work. They began producing a vast number of images of local plants and animals, historical buildings and monuments, festivals and processions, trades and crafts, castes and communities. As these pictures were collected by the East India Company officials, they became famous as Company paintings.

·         There were also painters who were not associated with any court. These painters developed a new world of popular art in many of the cities of India during the 19^th century.

·         In Bengal, around the pilgrimage centre of the temple of Kalighat, local village scroll painters, potters began developing a new style of art. They moved from the surrounding villages into Calcutta in the early 19^th century in the life of new patrons and new buyers of their art.

·         Before the 19^th century, the village patuas and potters had painted on mythological themes and produced images of gods and goddesses. But the images were not realistic and lifelike.

·         After the 1840s, they began producing paintings on social and political themes.

·         Many of these Kalighat pictures were printed in large numbers and sold in the market. In the beginning, the images were engraved in wooden blocks. The carved block was linked, pressed against paper, and then the woodcut prints that were produced were coloured by hand. In this way many copies could be produced from the same block.

·         By the late 19^th century, mechanical printing presses were established which allowed prints to be produced in even larger numbers. As a result, these prints became accessible for the poor too.

·         Middle-class Indian artists also set up printing presses and produced prints for a wide market.

·         With the spread of nationalism, popular prints of the early 20^th century began carrying nationalist messages. In many of them one can see Bharat Mata appearing as a goddess carrying the national flag, or nationalist heroes sacrificing their head to the Mata, and gods and goddesses slaughtering the British.

·         The images of India were produced by photographers too.

·         European photographers travelled to India and took pictures. They set up studios and established photographic societies to promote the art of photography.

·         Towards the end of the 19^th century, the painters began to develop a style that could be considered both modern and Indian.

·         Raja Ravi Verma was one of the first artists who created such a style. he mastered the Western art of oil painting and realistic life study but painted themes from Indian mythology. His mythological paintings became popular among Indian princes and art collectors.

·         However, the nationalist artists in Bengal did not approve the art of Ravi Verma because it was imitative and westernised. They declared that such was unsuitable for depicting the nation’s ancient myths and legends. They felt that a true to capture the spiritual essence of the East.

·         They broke away from the convention of oil painting and the realistic style and turned to for inspiration to medieval Indian traditions of miniature painting and the ancient art of mural painting in the Ajanta caves.

Words that Matter:

·         Convention: it refers to a norm or style that has been accepted.

·         Engraving: It refers to a picture onto paper from a piece of wood or metal into which the design or drawing has been cut.

·         Picturesque: Scene

·         Portrait: it is a picture of a person in which the face and its expression is prominent.

·         Portraiture: it is an art of making portraits.

·         Commission: choosing someone to do a special piece of work usually against payment.

·         Mural: it is a wall painting.

·         Perspective: The way that objects appear smaller when they are further away and the way parallel lines appear to meet each other at a point in the distance.

·         Scroll painter: one who does painting on a long roll of paper that could be rolled up.

·         Life study: it is the study of human figures from living models who pose for the artists.

Questions From Textbook

1. Fill in the blanks:

a) The art form which observed carefully and tried to capture exactly what the eye saw is called portraits.

b) The style of painting which showed Indian landscape as a quaint, unexplored land is called picturesque.

c) Paintings which showed the social lives of Europeans in India are called engravings.

d) Paintings which depicted scenes from British imperial history and their victories are called history paintings.

2. Point out which of the following were brought in with British art:

a) oil painting, b) miniature, c) life size portrait painting, d) use of perspective, e) mural art

Oil painting

3. Describe in your words one painting from this chapter which suggests that British were more powerful than Indians. How does the artist depict this?

The painting given below is painted by Rober Kerr Porter. In this painting the painter has shown the storming of Seringapatam, the capital of Tipu Sultan by the British troops.

Tipu Sultan of Mysore was one of the most powerful enemies of the British. He was finally defeated in 1799 at the famous battle of Seringapatam. In the picture the British troops are shown storming the fort from all sides, cutting Tipu’s soldiers to pieces, climbing the walls, raising the British flag aloft the ramparts of Tipu’s fort. The painting dramatises the event and at the same time glorifies the British victory.

Thus, imperial history paintings always tried to depict British more powerful than Indians.

4. Why did the scroll painters and potters come to Kalighat? Why did they begin to paint new themes?

The scroll painters and potters came to Kalighat and settled there because this was a time when the city was expanding as a commercial and administrative centre. Colonial offices were coming up, new buildings and roads were being constructed, markets were being set up. The city appeared as a place of opportunity where people could come to make a new living.

5. Why can we think of Raja Ravi Verma’s paintings as national?

We can think of Raja Ravi Verma’s paintings as national because he has depicted Indian mythology. Scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata and other mythological stories are prominent in his paintings.

6. In what way did the British history paintings in India feflect the attitudes of imperial conquerors?

The British history paintings celebrated the British and their power and victories. Francis Hayman, in 1762, produced a history painting and placed on public display in the Vauxhall Gardens in London. The British defeated Sirajuddaulah in the famous Battle of Plassey and installed Mir Zafar as the Nawab of Murshidabad. This event was painted by Hayman in a way that made it clear that the British were more powerful than the Indians.

7. Why do you think some artists wanted to develop national style of art?

Some artists wanted to develop a national style of art because in their views the art of Ravi Verma was imitative and westernised. It was unsuitable for depicting the nation’s ancient myths and legends. Therefore, they felt the need for a genuine Indian style of painting to draw inspiration from non western art tradition. In this way they made an attempt to capture the real spiritual essence of the East.

8. Why did some artists produce cheap popular prints? What influence would such prints have had on the minds of people who looked at them?

Some artists produced cheap popular prints so that even the poor could buy them. Such prints made mixed influences on the minds of those who saw them. For some, these prints were sentimental on the others; spiritualism could not be seen as the central feature of the Indian culture. They felt that artists had to explore real life instead of illustrating ancient books. They must look for inspiration for living folk art and tribal designs rather than ancient art forms. In the midst of such debates, new movements of art grew and styles of art changed subsequently.

More Questions Solved:

I. Multiple choice questions:

Choose the correct option.

i) The storming of Seringapatam was painted by

a) Rober Kerr Porter             b) Francis Hayman

c) Thomas Daniell                   d) Johann Jaffany

ii) Mural painting means

a) Oil painting             b) Miniature painting

c) Wall painting         d) None of the above

iii) Scroll painters were commonly known as

a) Kumhars                  b) Kumors

c) Patuas                     d) None of the above

iv) Abanindranath Tagore and a new group of nationalist artists rejected the art of Ravi Verma Because

a) It was imitative                   b) It was westernised

c) It was cheap                        d) Both (a) and (b)  

v) Samuel Bourne was a

a) Painter                    b) Photographer

c) Historian                 d) Biographer

II. Fill in the blanks:

Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence.

i) Oil painting enabled artists to produce images that looked real.

ii) British victories in India served as rich material for history painters in Britain.

iii) Calcutta Art Studio produced lifelike images of eminent Bengal personalities as well as mythological pictures.

iv) Raja Ravi Verma mastered the Western art of oil painting and realistic life study but painted themes from Indian mythology.

v) With the spread of nationalism, popular prints of the early 20^th century began carrying nationalist messages.

III. True/False:

State whether each of the following statements is true or false.

i) Potters are known as Kumhars in north India. True

ii) Tipu Sultan never encouraged local cultural traditions. False

iii) In Company people are painted against empty spaces. True

iv) Kalighat paintings depict British social life in India. False

v) Abanindranath Tagore appreciated the art of Raja Ravi Verma. False

IV. Match the followings:

Match the items given column A correctly with those given in Column B.

A	B
i) Thomas Daniel and William Denial	a) Picturesque landscape painting
ii) Johann Zoffany	b) Portrait painting
iii) Francis Hayman	c) History painting
iv) Tipu Sultan	d) Liked mural paintings
v) Abinindranath Tagore	e) My Mother

V. Very Short Answer Type Questions:

1. What did the idea of realism mean?

In fact it was a belief that artists observe carefully and depict faithfully what the eye see.

2. How did oil painting help artists?

Oil painting enabled artists to produce images that looked real.

3. How did picturesque landscape painting depict India?

This style of painting depicted India as a quaint land.

4. How were colonial portraits different from traditional Indian portraits?

Traditional Indian portraits were very small while colonial portraits were life size images that looked lifelike and real.

5. How can you say that Tipu Sultan had great liking for mural paintings?

Tipu Sultan got the walls of his palace at Seringapatam covered with mural paintings done by local artists.

6. Who was Samuel Bourne? When did he come to India?

Samuel Bourne was a photographer who came to India in the early 1860s.

7. What was Bourne and Shephard?

Samuel Bourne set up a photographic studio in Calcutta which came to be known as Bourne and Shephard.

8. What did Indian photographers often record?

Indian photographers often recorded the nationalist marches and meetings as well as the everyday life of the people.

9. Who was Raja Ravi Verma?

Raja Ravi Verma was one of the first artists who tried creating a style that was both modern and national. He belonged to the family of the Maharajas of Travancore in Kerala.

10. What was the theme of Ravi Verma’s paintings?

The theme of Ravi Verma’s painting was Indian mythology.

11. Among whom did the mythological paintings of Ravi Verma become very popular?

His paintings became popular among Indian princes and art collectors.

VI. Short Answer Type Questions:

1. Write a short note on picturesque landscape painting.

Picturesque landscape painting depicted India as a quaint land, to be explored by travelling British artists. Its landscape was rugged and wild, seemingly untamed by human hands. Thomas Daniell and his nephew William Daniell were the two famous artists of this tradition. They stayed in India for seven years and travelled from Calcutta to northern and southern India. They produced some of the most evocative picturesque landscapes of British newly conquered territories in India.

2. Give an account of Company paintings.

The British officials wanted images through which they could understand India, remember their life in India and depict India to the Western world. Therefore, they engaged local painters, who began producing a huge number of images of local plants and animals, historical buildings and monuments, festivals and processions, trades and crafts, caste and communities. These pictures were collected by the East India Company officials. Therefore, they came to be known as Company paintings.

The main feature of Company paintings is that people were painted against empty spaces.

3. Write a short note on the art of photography practised by Europeans in India.

By the mid-19^th century the European photographers began travelling to India, taking pictures, setting up studios and establishing photographic societies to promote the art of photography. Some photographers were portrait painters and they began taking photographs of imperial officials, presenting them as figures of authority and power.

Other photographers toured the country in search for ruined buildings and picturesque landscapes. Yet others recorded moments of British military triumph. There were some photographers who recorded the cultural diversity of India in ways that showed India like a primitive country.

VII. Long Answer Type Questions:

1. What happened to the artists who earlier painted miniatures? How did the painters at Indian courts react to the new traditions of imperial art?

There were different trends in different courts. In Mysore, Tipu Sultan not only fought the British on the battlefield but also resisted the cultural traditions associated with them. He continued to encourage local traditions. The walls of his palace at Seringapatam were covered with mural paintings done by local artists.

In the court of Murshidabad, there was a different trend. Here in this court, after defeating Sirajuddaulah the British had successfully installed their puppet Nawabs on the throne, first Mir Zafar and then Mir Qasim. The court at Murshidabad encouraged local miniature artists to absorb the tastes and artistic styles of the British.

Several local courts lost their influence and wealth with the establishment of British power in India. As a result, it became difficult for them to support painters and pay them to paint for the court. This compelled many of these artists turn to the British.

The British officials found the world in the colonies different from that back home. They wanted images through which they could understand India, remember their life in India and depict India to the Western world. Therefore, the local painters began producing a vast number of images of local plants and animals, historical and monuments, festivals and processions, trades and crafts, castes and communities.