Fratris

Petrus.

THE NATIONALIST AND MODERN ART with special reference to the BENGAL SCHOOL

Profound changes took place in the field of art and architecture in the colonial era. The introduction of
European academic Naturalism transformed all aspects of Indian Art from working practices to
relationship between artist and patron. Partha Mitter opines that one of the most powerful impacts
alongside on culture, language and religion was on artistic taste. Victorian Illusionistic art and the notion
of artistic progress took firm roots in India giving rise to new genres such as oil portraits, naturalistic
landscapes and academic nudes. Artistic individualism began to be prized by artists and patron as art
schools, art societies and exhibitions provided the network for promoting academic art. According to
Vidya Dahejya on the Indian subcontinent the word “Modern” underwent many changes in meaning
during the late 19th century and early 20th century. In arts, a sharp distinction became established
between the guild- oriented artisan of Yore and the new professional artists of social standing. Dahejya
also opines that with the rise of nationalism, the efforts of modernism were directed towards achieving
nationhood. This implied addressing a number of entrenched social problems in the course recuperating
an “authentic self”. Nationalisms agenda upheld Indian women as the prime preservers of religiosity,
tradition and an authentic “Indianness”; their portrayal had to be chaste and discreet.

The first sign of change during the Raj was the loss of courtly patronage in Indian with the fall of Indian
powers in the late 18th century as opines Partha Mitter. Sumit Sarkar agreeing on the same note points
that the decline in Mughal and successor courts was accompanied by total collapse of Karkhanas in the
course of 18th century. In Bengal, the first region that passed under the control of the company, artists
earlier employed in the official enterprises at Murshidabad and Patna were pushed down to the level of
what the Europeans termed “Bazar Artists”. This crisis of patronage forced artists to compromise their
work with inferior materials and paints and hence, as a result, their paintings were of low quality. East
Indian Company employed artists for wide ranging economic surveys and documentation of natural
history. British residents commissioned paintings of flora and fauna from Indian who were trained in
western techniques such as Perspective, Chiaroscuro, and picturesque idiom popularised by landscape
artists Thomas and William Daniell.

The rise of Calcutta as a rapidly expanding urban centre drew Village scroll painters who were known as
Patuas, to the city. Sumit Sarkar elaborates on the art style of these painters in his book. These painters
settled around the very famous temple pilgrimage spot in Kalighat where the pilgrims and visitors to the
temple provided a ready market for these highly portable canvases. The satirical criticism of urban
“Bbabu” culture evident in some of their paintings had been read at times as popular, indigenous and
traditional. But Sumit Sarkar opines that Kalighat paintings were hardly “Traditional” or “rural” and in
many ways they were distinctively modern, constituting perhaps the first modern school of art. These
paintings were made on cheap mill made papers or earthen plates with application of water colours
mostly natural extracts. There was a shift from narrative scroll paintings to single narrative paintings
which was appropriate for the marker.

As the Indian Art declined along with its rulers, the elites and rulers turned to colleting western art and
portraits of European artists. In 1854, the East Indian Company embarked on a project of improving
Indian taste as a part of its moral amelioration. Art Schools and Art Societies, two key victorian
institutions, became instruments of disseminating Academic Art. Sumit Sarkar in his book points out
Dual Motivation which includes- 1) Art Education- which would hopefully provide alternative channels of
employment to educated youth through low level technical jobs in govt. departments and 2) Art
exhibition and collections. The advent of academic art was accompanied by a social revolution in India as
opines Mitter. In contrast to the earlier humble position of the Court Artists, the colonial artists enjoyed
the elevated status of independent gentlemen, in part because they now hailed from the elite. The
growth of art exhibitions, art journalism and the rise of an Art- Conscious public changed the public
perception of art and the artist. By the end of the century, a number of Indian women also took part in
Exhibitions. The careers of early Salon artists such as Annada Bagchi, Pestonji Bomanji and others were
launched at these shows. Among the subjects exhibited landscapes were a novelty for Indian artists.

The most celebrated academic artist was Raja Ravi Varma, the first of the gentleman artists nourished
by the Romantic image of the artist as an uncompromising individualist. He was a self -trained artist who
miraculously mastered the new techniques of oil paintings and adapting Victorian salon arts binging life
to ancient Indian epics and literary classics. Parth Mitter opines that the new canon of beauty was a
mixture of Kerela and Guercino. He received award for his painting – Nair Lady in 1873 and the Chicago
Exhibition of 1893 labelled his Art having “Ethnographic Value”. Sumit Sarkar opines that his
mythological , particularly the heroines were represented not as Statuesque icons but as palpable,
desirable, human beings. His famous works includes: Sakuntalas love epistle to Dushyanta or Arjun and
Subhadra were denounced in the heyday of nationalism and the Bengal School as both immoral and
denationalized. Sumit Sarkar labels Verma as a Successful Entrepreneur upon his success as a
professional artist in market. His paintings commercially proliferated everywhere – as decorations on
porcelain figures, matches, English baby food etc.

Raja Ravi Verma died as a national celebrity in 1906. Mitter mentions that in a curious twist of fate ,
almost immediately after his death verma’s works were denounced as hybrid , undignified and above all
“ Unspiritual”. Such a change opinion resulted from the upsurge in national sentiment in the second half
of the 19th century which fed on the potent myth of India’s Spirituality. The circle of nationalist in Bengal
led by Rabindranath Tagore reasserted their faith in Indian civilization, dismissed by colonial
westernizers at the opening of the century. In this Swadeshi era, what came to be called “ Extremism”
condemned the Moderates as ineffective “mendicants”, insufficiently patriotic and denationalized. The
counterpart in the world of art was a sudden fall in the prestige of Raja Ravi Varma and the entire realist
genre and the rise of a group of painters, headed by Abanindranath Tagore, that came to be termed as
the Bengal or Calcutta School of Art. This became the artistic counterpart of the Hindu Nationalism of
these years as opines Sumit Sarkar.
There was a new demand of “Indianness” , equated mainly before with the Hindu themes and values.
They key term became authentic Bhava- roughly , truly indigenous emotions and sentiments, associated
with exaltation of allegedly “Spiritual” orient over Crassy materialist Western Civilization and Culture.
The key figure in founding of the Bengal School was E.B. Havell who came to India as the head
successively in Madras and then Calcutta School of Art. Havell became appreciative of the Mughal
miniatures, Abanindranath and increasingly the “ Hindu” heritage. In the Handbook he published in
1904 for Agra and Taj Mahal , he tried to separate the Persian external influences from the genuinely “
Indian” central core of Hindu features in Mughal Art. Sumit Sarkar mentions that Havell emphasized
“Indian Spiritualism” in art, rather than mere technical or archaeological interpretations. It is this
spirituality that he thought has discovered at its deepest in A Tagore. Havell and the nationalist
condemned European naturalism in favour of spiritual essence. However, Havell was criticized by the
young Bengali men who were against the fact that Havell was trying to deprive the Bengalis of western
art education.

Another proponent of the BSA was Abanindranath Tagore, the nephew of R Tagore. Tagore family had
been in the forefront of a cultural renaissance in Calcutta. Although he received instruction in academic
art from an English art teacher, he found it to be incompatible with his own temperament. His search for
an indigenous style eventually led to his paintings on the divine lovers, Radha and Krishna, which
introduced to the Bengali audience an alternative, emaciated ideal of feminine beauty. Tagore came in
contact with the Japanese nationalist, Okakura at 1902. Okakura was a towering figure in Japanese
Nihonga Art movement which stressed Japanese cultural identity. His “Ideas of the East” held out a
perspective of Asian unity against the west, within which India and its ancient culture were promised an
important place. Even before Okakura’s first visit, two Japanese artists, Taikan and Shunso had visited
Calcutta and inspired A Tagore to adopt the technique of wash painting, creating the smoky shadows
and hazy contours of figure that became characteristics for the time. His Bharat Mata or Mother India
painted in 1905 portrays a chastely beautiful young ascetic with four arms, a halo around her head and
lotus at her feet. Vidya Dahejia opines that this image of Tagore, not associated with any deity , became
the artistic icon for Indian nation.

Another gentleman in association to the BSA was Ananda Coomaraswamy, who developed over time
into the most important art commentator among these admirers of the Bengal School. Of mixed
Sinhalese English parentage, living in England in his youth, Coomaraswamy, during his brief stay in
Ceylon became a nationalist ideologue increasingly enthusiastic about the Swadeshi Movement in India.
Coomaraswamy’s texts, particularly Essays in National Idealism (1909) and Art and Swadeshi (1912)
were extremely influential which according to Sumit Sarkar located the real meaning of Swadeshi
Nationalism not in any gains but in the propagation of the “ Great ideas of Indian Culture”. Another
celebrated painter in the same vein of neo – Orientalist art of Bengal School was Nandalal Bose whose
famous painting of Sati, in which widow immolation was the symbol of suffering, self-sacrifice and
devotion. Art during Swadeshi period thus became imbued with dominant strands of Hindu revivalist
thinking regarding the ideal Indian Women. There were other figures who added chorus of praise,
amongst several Sister Nivedita was the dominant figure. This influential associate of Swami
Vivekananda contributed significantly to the alignment during Swadeshi years of Hindu revivalism and
nationalism. She violently condemned Varma’s Arjun and Subhadra for its un -Indian vulgarity, as
compared with A.T’s Bharat mata. Partha Mitter opines that the Swadeshi ideology of art , a reflection
of militant Hindu nationalism, tended to privilege Hindu Culture as the kernel of the Indian nation,
thereby disheartening other communities. Such developments created a feeling of unease among the
Muslims. Abdur Rehman Chughtai, an outstanding Muslim painter from Lahore, represented the
awakening of Muslim cultural and political identity in India.

Art from the 1920’s until 1947, was dominated by three powerful personalities, Rabindranath Tagore,
Amrita Sher-Gill and Jamini Roy, all of whom responded to modernism in their unique ways. Partha
Mitter in his books points out two major developments in art during the period. However, the first
development was the Indian response to modernism was a fascination with Cubism, which had become
the most widely emulated artistic style in the World. The pioneering figure in this context was
Abanindranath’s brother, Gaganendranath who came in prominence in 1917 with serious of cartoon
lithographs. The unique importance of Analytical Cubism rests on the fact that it finally destroyed the
pictorial illusionism created by “directional lighting”. Second development was the “Primitivism” in art.
This change threw significance to the primitive lifestyle of the Santhals or Adivasis who became object of
Universal nativism or primitivism. The kalighat paintings were perfect examples of such art form.

The first major modern artist who made primitivism a vehicle for his artistic expression, the great poet
Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to make an effective use of bold “expressionist” distortions in
his paintings. Tagore’s paintings made a considerable stir in the European intellectual circles. His affinity
with the European Avant- grade was not a form of emulation but simply a parallel approach to artistic
primitivism. Tagore’s paintings originated in his game of creating shapes out of crossed- out texts, his
“erasures”. On the drafts of his writings, he often experimented with the Bengali script and visual effects
on different page design. His erasures were produced with pen ink and were limited in range of colours
which began to take shape of animals and human shapes. Mitter compares his interest to the totemic
art of North America. Tagore’s primitivism sprang from an inner psychological need. He found the
Bengal School unacceptable parochial and sought refuge in what he regarded as the universal in art. His
direct and untutored approach made him the most radical painter in India and an inspiration to the
young generation.

The second major figure in Indian modernism was the legendary Amrita Sher- Gil , the professional
woman artist in India, who died tragically young. Amrita returned to India after training in Paris,
declaring with youthful impetuosity that she wished to see the art of India and produce something of
the Soil. Sher Gils primitivist longings were first kindled by Gauguin’s Tahitian paintings. She declared her
artistic mission to be the interpretation of the lives of poor, mute, unsung Indians, the silent images of
infinite submission, angular brown bodies strangely beautiful in their ugliness as pointed by Mitter.
Apart from her well known Gauguinesque paintings , she also produced thick textual style paintings.
Sher Gil had commenced another style with dramatic colours and flat shapes. In her works, The Child
Bride stole public attention in her age.

The third leading modernist before 1947 was Jamini Roy, whose primitivism made a consistent
ideological statement. A member of the legendry gentry, Roy received his training at the Calcutta Art
School under Abanindranath Tagore. In his career , Roy searched for an “ Authentic” national expression
in art, flirting with an array of styles from both East and the West, ranging from academic naturalism and
impressionism to orientalism and Chinese wash paintings. After seeking inspiration in the art of
Kalighat , Roy turned to rural India, to the santhals, who were already being romanticized by the Bengali
nationalist and finally to the scroll paintings of his own village in the Bakura district of West Bengal.
Roy’s achievements as a nationalist artist must be set against his own definition of indigenous art. Firstly
, he was convinced that the genuine Indian art could not be produced with foreign commercial
pigments. As a response he gave up oil painting, turning to indigenous earth colours and organic
pigments. Secondly, Roy rejected Kalighat in favour of village scroll paintings because he found former
to be too closely associated with the urban and colonial milieu of Calcutta. Hence, Roy produced
paintings of his own kind which echoed the essence of indigenous art with modern commitment.

The reception of modern art in India is encapsulated in the comments of the German art Historian
Hermann Goetz. Indian art, he argues, had faced crisis during the colonial rule, which ended with the
rise of modernism, when the best artist started again on their quest for true art, not from a superficial
imitation the past, but from an understanding of the basic principles underlying all genuine creations.
The 1950’s and 1970’s were dominated by Non- Figurative art. Geeta Kapur opines that the figure was
removed from the works of Indian artist to leave behind the merest signs of human presence in nature.
In 1947, the year of Independence, the Bombay Progressive Artists Group was lunched which made a
big impact with a much publicized exhibition in the following year. The distinguished members of this
school were Maqbool Fida Hussain, Francis Newton Souza and S.H. Raza.

From poor Maharashtran family, M.F. Hussain rose from being a humble painter of hoardings
advertising hindi movies to the undisputed leader in the modern indian art. The high point of his career
was the Sao Paulo Biennale of 1971 where he exhibited alongside Picasso. Hussain became the “ Picasso
of India”, created works that could be caustic and funny as well as serious and sombre. His themes-
usually treated in series- included topics as diverse as Mohandas k. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the
Ramayana, the Mahabharata, The British Raj and motifs of Indian Urban and Rural life. Although he was
awarded Padma Bhushan (1973) and Padma Vibhushan (1991) , Hussain , a secular Muslim, triggered
criticism for his often irreverent treatment of sensitive subject matter, including Hindu goddesses
painted as nudes. One of his best known painting is of “Bharatmata” depicted a bright red nude woman
contorted into the shape of the Indian Subcontinent. Other significant works includes “Man” (1951),
“Viswamitra” (1973) and “Passage through human space” – a series of 45 watercolours completed in the
mid 1970’s.

Another significant artist from the contemporary era was Francis Newton Souza. He was the founder of
the Progressive Artist Group in 1947 is best known for his inventive human forms particularly the heads.
Souza was brought up as a Catholic in Goa but in the discourse he opposed church and its hypocrisy and
its authoritarian structure. Souza’s themes rides the waves of human concerns, errant but able,
containing and embrocating all aspects of life, from its political affiliations to Christian overtones, from
his Greek relatives to Hindu Philosophy. His strong bold lines delineated the head in a distinctive way
where it was virtually re-invented circles, hatchings and crosses. Souza was also an image maker whose
subjects ranged from representation of landscape, women to still life and portraits, bearing uncanny
metaphysical forces as in the medieval occidental art form. Souza’s nudes exhibits unrestrained sexuality
and his landscapes enhance a pictorial image of desolation with agony and transforms visual perceptions
into significant forms. His famous works includes: Christ on Palm Sunday, Nude in Profile, Eros Killing
Thanatos etc.

The third most important person from PAG was Sayed Haider Raza . the childhood memories of
mysterious forests drew Raza to landscapes, a rare subject among post- Independence artists. Raza
discovered German Expressionism through Langhsmmer and Rudy Von Leyden. His cityscapes
progressed from an architectonic view of Bombay to an appreciation of its moods, season and colours.
His works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a very rich use of colours. In 1956, after moving to
Paris he became the first Asian to win the Prix de la Critique. From transfigured nature of his early years ,
Raza moved on in his 1990’s to the painting inspired by ancient Upanishadic philosophy and Tantric Cult.
He became one of the India’s priciest modern artist on 10 June 2010 when a seminal work, Saurshtra by
the 88 year was sold for Rs. 16.42 crore. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981, Padma Bhushan in
2007 and Padma vibhushan in 2013. His other famous paintings includes : Ankuran, Clocher du Village
etc.

Plz put a conclusion as per you deem fit.