Art Movement of India

1. INDIAN ART MOVEMENTS

2. • Name: Rajyaguru Dhvani Dipakbhai
• Paper Name: History of English Literature: From 1900 to
2000
• Code: 110 (A)
• Subject: Medieval, Mughal and Modern art movements of
India
• Roll no: 04
• Email Id: dhvanirajayguru22@gmail.com
• Department: Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji University,
Bhavnagar.

3. ART OF MEDIEVAL INDIA- SCULPTURE
• According to Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (Jstor):
• The medieval period in India is mainly one of the crystallization of existing type. Styles
become more local. The principal styles are those of Pala(Bengal and Orissa, 8th to
12th Cen) and Cola(Southern India) schools.
• Medieval Art was commissioned and patronized as paintings – either on a grand scale
on walls and as murals, or as miniature and detailed paintings styles. Metal sculptures
using bronze or copper were also common and widely made during this period. One
of the main contributions was the grand temples built, which were an amalgamation
of all art forms practiced during this time.
• During the medieval period the Indian culture gave great importance to sculpture. All
the temples both in the North and South were decorated externally and internally with
sculptures. The sanctuaries and chapels contained statues (either in stone or bronze)
dedicated entirely to the religious cult and in the courtyards several pavilions housed
monumental effigies of divine animals such as the bull Nandi of Shiva, the Garuda bird
of Vishnu, or the Varaha boar an avatar* of Vishnu.

4. In the North, the most
beautiful sculptural styles
are those of Bhubaneswar
(state of Odisha),
Khajuraho (state of
Madhya Pradesh), and
Konark (state of Odisha)
from the XIIIth century.
(Carolinarh-ArS Artistic Adventure of
Mankind)
Konark Sun Temple (State of Odisha, India)
Mukteshvara temple (Bhubaneswar, Odisha
state, India)

5. • During the same period in the southern regions the artistic trends
were very different but the excellence of the sculptures was equal.
The most beautiful works of this time are seen on the exterior walls of
the temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram (first quarter
of the XIth century). They are great effigies in high and sharp relief, so
much that they seem exempt sculptures placed inside niches in the
two levels of the main body of the vimana: their slender and refined
forms, the soft modeling, and the pure contour of their arms and legs
make them works of completely classical perfection.(Carolinarh-ArS
Artistic Adventure of Mankind)
Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur (State of Tamil Nadu,
India)
Brihadisvara temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram (State of Tamil Nadu, India)

6. • Lastly, it is necessary to mention the sculpture of the Hoysala style. It was endowed
with a remarkable unity of style, which was characterized by certain heaviness,
decorative overload, and iconographic rigor, but was also distinguished by some
attitudes showing certain kind of majesty and dignity which give the divine
characters a calm and serene look. (Carolinarh-ArS Artistic Adventure of
Mankind)

7. MUGHAL ERA ART
• Mughal painting is a style of South Asian miniature painting that developed
in the courts of the Mughal Emperors between the 16th and 19th centuries.
It emerged from the Persian miniature painting tradition with additional
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain influences. Mughal painting usually took the form
of book illustrations or single sheets preserved in albums. There are five
periods commonly associate with Mughal art, each named for the emperor
under whom the art form developed: the Humayu period,Akbar Period, the
Jahangir Period, the Shah Jahan Period, and the Aurangzeb Period.
• Mughal painting’s style of painting, confined mainly to book illustration and
the production of individual miniatures, that evolved in India during the
reigns of the Mughal emperors (16th–18th century). Probably the earliest
example of Mughal painting is the illustrated folktale Tuti-nameh (“Tales of
a Parrot”).
• Mughal painting was essentially a court art; it developed under the
patronage of the ruling Mughal emperors and began to decline when the
rulers lost interest. (Britannica)
Tuti-nameh Painting

8. PAINTINGS OF HUMAYU AND AKBAR PERIOD
• The school had its beginnings during the reign of the
emperor Humāyūn (1530–40 and 1555–56), who
invited two Persian artists, Mīr Sayyid ʿAlī and
Khwāja ʿAbd al-Ṣamad, to join him in India.
(Britannica)
• Under the reign of Akbar the Great (1556–1605) that
Mughal painting came into its own. Trained in
painting in his youth by the Persian master ‘Abd al-
Samad, Akbar was responsible for setting up the first
atelier of court painters, which he staffed with artists
from all parts of India whose work he took a keen
interest in. This atelier was chiefly responsible for
illustrating books on a variety of subjects: histories,
romances, poetry, legends, and fables of both Persian
and Indian origin.The famous painter of this era was
Basavan also.
• The colors used were mostly mineral and sometimes
vegetable dyes, and the fine brushes were made from
squirrel’s tail or camel hair.
“Mejnūn Being Brought by a Beggar
Woman to Leylā's Tent,” miniature by Mīr
Sayyid ʿAlī
A Jain ascetic walking along a riverbank, c .1600
painting by Basawan.

9. PAINTINGS OF JAHANGIR AND END OF ERA
• Like his father Akbar, the emperor Jahangir showed a keen interest
in painting and maintained his own atelier. The tradition of
illustrating books assumed secondary importance to portraiture
during Jahangir’s reign because of the emperor’s own preference
for portraits. Among the finest works of his reign are elaborate
court scenes depicting him surrounded by his courtiers. These are
large scale exercises in portraiture, and the likeness of each figure
is produced faithfully.
• Shahjahan and Aurangzeb were not much enthusiastic
Mughals..still many paintings were done in their time also. Mughal
painting essentially came to an end during the reign of Shah Alam
II (1759–1806), and the artists of his disintegrated court contented
themselves with copying masterpieces of the past.

10. THE PAHARI STYLE OF MUGHAL ERA
• The Pahari style of miniature painting and book illustration
developed in the independent states of the Himalayan foothills
between the 17th and 18th centuries and began to decline
after 1800. This style consists of two schools: the Basohli school
and the Kangra school.
• The Basohli school flourished toward the end of the 17th
century; it is best known for its bold use of color, intense
emotionality, stylized facial types shown in profile with
prominent eyes, and distinctive depictions of jewelry.
• The Kangra school emerged in the mid-18th century as the
Basohli style began to fade and is characterized by curving
lines , calmer colors, and delicate lyricism .

11. MODERN ART: BENGAL SCHOOL ART MOVEMENT
After the Colonial rule ended in the
subcontinent, there was a huge
overhaul in art styles around the
country. Even at the start of the 20th
century due to the Independence
movement, the first notable art
movement to create an entirely
different style was the ‘Bengal School’
art movement. It was initiated and
triggered by a nationalistic fervor in
search of an Indian identity.(Artisera
Editorial) Abanindranath Tagore, harbinger of
Bengal's renaissance is the founder of
the Indian Society of Oriental Art,
Abanindranath brought nationalism to
Indian art in 20th century. Bengal
Artists such as Nandalal Bose,
Gaganendranath Tagore, and Mukul
Dey exerted a huge influence over the
artistic scene with the movement’s
centers at Kolkata and ShantiNiketan.
(Artisera Editorial)

12. CALCUTTA GROUP OF ART &PROGRESSIVE ARTIST GROUP
Though the most radical change came through
the creation of a radical group called the
‘Calcutta group’ against a background of
political, social, and economic upheaval with
war, famines, and violence.This was established
in 1943. The founder members were sculptors
Pradosh Dasgupta, his wife Kamala, painters
Gopal Ghosh, Nirode Majumdar, Paritosh Sen
and Subho Tagore,who attempted to launch an
art of change – anti-nostalgic, anti-sentimental
and subverting hierarchies.
Another movement called the ‘Progressive
Artists Group’ with artists such as M.F
Hussain and S.H. Raza were among its
founders. Though not unified by a single
style or aesthetic, these groups of artists
wished to transcend the academic style and
the nationalist style of art – and looked at
contemporary international art for exposure.

13. SOME FAMOUS MODERN PAINTINGS OF THESE GROUPS

14. REFERENCES
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Basavan". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Oct. 2011,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Basavan. Accessed 15 April 2022.
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Mughal architecture". Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Sep. 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/art/Mughal-architecture. Accessed 15 April 2022.
• Carolinarh. “Art of Medieval India – Sculpture.” Arsartisticadventure, 24 Feb. 2019,
https://arsartisticadventureofmankind.wordpress.com/2019/02/24/art-of-medieval-india-sculpture/.
• Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. “An Approach to Indian Art.” Parnassus, vol. 7, no. 7, 1935, pp. 17–20,
https://doi.org/10.2307/771364. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022.
• “How the Bengal School of Art Changed Colonial India's Art Landscape.” Artisera.com , Artisera
Editorial, 27 Feb. 2017, https://www.artisera.com/blogs/expressions/how-the-bengal-school-of-art-
changed-colonial-indias-art-landscape.
• Kramrisch, Stella. “Medieval Indian Sculpture” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, vol. 87, no. 4535,
1939, pp. 1180–94, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41359445. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022.
• Ujjvala, Krishna. “4 Art Movements in The History of India.” Rethinking.com, https://www.re-
thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-fresh-perspectives/a1542-4-art-movements-in-the-history-of-india/.