This document provides an overview of Company School paintings created in India during British colonial rule between the 18th and 19th centuries. It discusses how British patrons commissioned Indian artists to depict scenes of everyday life, occupations, ceremonies, and wildlife. The paintings combined Western techniques like linear perspective with traditional Indian styles of miniature painting. Company paintings serve as valuable historical records of colonial India and helped spread images of Indian culture to European audiences. The document concludes with descriptions and analyses of 12 examples of Company paintings showcasing various subjects and styles.

1. HISTORY OF ARTS
Assignment
on
Company School of Paintings
Submitted to: Ms Neha Dhaliwal
Submitted by: Minnoti Verma
Roll No.: 3310
BFA, 3rd Year
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
-Pablo Picasso

2. Colonial influence on Indian art
or
Company style of art
“Native artists were encouraged to paint
images of Indian life which reflected the social
fabric of the period.”

3. Classification of Indian art
Indian art can be classified into specific periods each
reflecting particular religious, political and cultural
developments.
• Hinduism and Buddhism of the ancient period (3500 BCE-present)
• Islamic ascendancy (712-1757 CE)
• The Colonial period (1757-1947)
• Independence and the postcolonial period (Post-1947)
• Modernism
• Postmodernism
Each period is unique in its art, literature and architecture.
Indian art is constantly challenged as it rises to the peak of
achieving the ideals of one philosophy in a visual form,
then begins anew for another.

4. Company Paintings – Introduction
Europeans arriving in India during the 18th century,
were fascinated by their new environment. The British
wanted their visual experiences to be recorded in
paintings and sketches, and found that the subjects
that interested them could be depicted far more
accurately by Indian than British artists.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the British
employed Indian artists to illustrate the manners and
customs of India and to record scenes of monuments,
deities, festivals, and occupations. These works later
became known as 'Company paintings' because they
were created by Indian artists employed by members
of the British East India Company.

5. Company Paintings - Scenes of
Everyday Life
The British wanted images of everyday scenes such as
the vendors at the market selling grain, fruits and
vegetables. The paintings show that the markets of
1850 are very similar to the food markets in India
today. Religious castes and occupations were also very
popular subjects, especially in South India. People
were usually depicted in pairs, as with this set of three
mendicant couples with various instruments used in
worship and daily life. This painting comes from a book
of 30 pages depicting castes, occupations, methods of
cultivation and procession scenes. Groups of images
were commonly compiled into books, and presented
as gifts or saved as mementos.

6. Company Paintings - Paintings for
European Markets
Many of these paintings were created by Indian
artist families in areas of British influence such as
Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Delhi, Murshidabad, Patna,
Calcutta, Benares and Lucknow. Sometimes
paintings of local subjects were produced and
later peddled at British train stations or sold to
European travelers. Individual artists were also
commissioned or employed by European officers
of the East India company to produce specific
works, such as the painting of the Rath Jatra
festival procession of 1822, showing a British
couple with an Indian nobleman.

7. Company Paintings - Stylistic
Crossover
Indian artists were willing to create new works
targeted at the taste of the Europeans who favored
watercolor paintings. Both subject matter and style
were influenced by the English representational
watercolor paintings and prints that were brought to
India. Artists gradually switched from heavy Indian
opaque paints to light water-colour paints. The result
is a type of painting with a blend of Indian and British
styles, and an attempt by Indian artists to meet
European demands for accurate depictions of subjects.
The bright colors traditionally used in Indian miniature
paintings were replaced with soft blue, green and
brown tones.

8. Company Paintings - Records from
the past
Company paintings can be used as historical
documentation of origins of the people of India.
Monuments and their surroundings as they were
in the past can now only be visualized through
these paintings. The Taj Mahal complex, as
depicted in the 1830s, is bursting with trees
which no longer exist. Through these paintings
we are able to have a glimpse of India through
Indian eyes of the 1800s. Company paintings for
the British continued throughout the 19th
century until the introduction of photography in
India in the 1840s, which gradually took over.

9. Company Paintings - Basic
Characteristics and Examples
• The use of watercolors
• Linear perspective
• Light and Shade.
• Fairly simple illustrations of a limited range of Indian
life of miniature painting - company paintings
• Company paintings provided what was in some ways a
restricted vision.
• Tended to focus on a simple range of representative
crafts and occupations, castes and ethnic groups, and
commonly observed events and occasions.

10. 1. A Common
Indian Nightjar
18th century
India, Lucknow
Watercolor on paper
8 5/8 x 11 1/8 in.(21.9 x 28.3 cm)

11. A Common Indian Nightjar
The classic works of the Company School of painting were
studies of plant and animal life, of which this depiction of
the nightjar bird is one. The bird is executed with great
attention to detail—individual feathers have been outlined
and painted with subtle gradations of color, and several
shades of brown and black are used to delineate its body
markings. The eye has a bright ring around it and the legs
are textured with parallel line markings. The landscape in
which the bird stands is only sparingly indicated, and is in a
smaller scale than the animal. This feature is common in
Company School paintings of this kind, as the main purpose
of the painting was to record species new to British
observers. The painting comes from an album made for
Claud Martin (1735–1800), the French soldier and patron of
the arts who settled in Lucknow in the eighteenth century.

12. 2. Great Indian Fruit Bat
ca. 1777–82
Circle of Bhawani Das
India (Calcutta)
Pencil, ink, and watercolors on paper
23 1/2 x 32 3/4 in.(59.7 x 83.2 cm)

13. Great Indian Fruit Bat
In 1777, Sir Elijah Impey, chief justice of Bengal between 1774 and
1782, and his wife, Lady Mary, hired local artists to record the
specimens of Indian flora and fauna they collected at their estate in
Calcutta. Over the next five years, at least 326 paintings of plants,
animals, and birds were made for the Impeys. On most of these
works, the name of one of three artists—Bhawani Das, Shaykh Zayn
al-Din, or Ram Das—appears along with the Hindi name of the
animal and the phrase, in English, "In the collection of Lady Impey
at Calcutta." Although this painting bears no such inscription, it is
closely related to another painting of a bat by Bhawani Das, and it
has always been associated with Impey patronage. One can imagine
Bhawani Das and the anonymous artist of this painting working side
by side, observing the animals, but whereas Bhawani Das' painting
depicts a tawny-colored female bat centered on the page with both
wings outstretched, his fellow artist has created an asymmetrical
composition in shades of gray and black of an emphatically male
bat with one wing dramatically unfurled.

14. 3. Black Stork
in a
Landscape
ca. 1780
India (Lucknow)
Watercolor on European paper
29 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. (75.6 x 54.6 cm)

15. Black Stork in a Landscape
By the late eighteenth century, many Mughal-trained painters in
central and eastern India were looking to the emerging British
ruling class for patronage. The products of this new Company
School were often albums of flora and fauna and other exotic sights
of India, made to be taken back to Britain. Although this tradition
reached its climax in the late eighteenth century, it continued well
into the nineteenth. Of the varied subjects, bird studies, such as this
bold depiction of a sturdy black stork, may be deemed a classic
type. Paintings of birds, animals, and flowers had been an
important genre in Indian art since the time of the Mughal emperor
Jahangir (r. 1605–27), and the continuation of such subjects under
British patronage was a natural extension of that established
tradition, although the results were often quite different
stylistically. In this painting, the stork is standing upright in a
receding landscape of considerably reduced scale that contains a
meandering river. The dramatic contrast in size between the bird
and the vista it dominates gives the composition a distinctively
idiosyncratic mood.

16. 4. Bengal River Fish
ca. 1804
India; Calcutta School
Pencil, gouache, watercolor, and
gilding on paper
14 1/4 x 20 1/2 in. (36.1 x 52 cm)

17. Bengal River Fish
This painting shows two views of a Bengal river fish,
executed in pencil and watercolor with traces of
gilding on paper. The twin images of each side of the
fish are placed by one another, the upper image in a
dark gray tone and the lower one in a paler shade of
the same color. The mottled, scaly surface of the fish's
body is carefully rendered, as are its mouth and eyes.
The painting is from the collection of Marquis
Wellesley, governor-general of India from 1798 until
1805. Wellesley had large menageries and hired native
artists to paint each of the birds and animals in them

18. 5. View of a Mosque and Gateway in
Upper Bengal
ca. 1820–21
Sita Ram
India (Bengal)
Watercolor on paper
13 x 19 1/4 in. (33 x 48.9 cm)

19. View of a Mosque and Gateway in
Upper Bengal
• Sita Ram, painter of this idyllic scene, was hired to record
the travels of Francis Rawdon, the governor-general of
Bengal (1814–21). Sita Ram had trained in Murshidabad
and was particularly skilled in depicting architecture; he
prepared a total of ten albums for Rawdon, but no other of
his works survive. This particular picture was probably
painted during Rawdon's tour of Bengal in the winter of
1820–21, and appears to be a composite of monuments
from the Gaur district.
• This painting is likely part of a series from two important
dispersed albums recording views of the Ganges in Bengal
and of monuments in Agra. It is characterized by a
Europeanizing style and exhibits a mastery of European
watercolor techniques, suggesting that Sita Ram had
contact with distinguished artists such as George Chinnery
and Charles D'Oyly.

20. 6. Interior of a Mughal Tomb, or
Hammam, Furnished in the English Taste
ca. 1830–40
India (Delhi)
Opaque watercolor on paper
9 3/16 x 12 1/8 in.(23.2 x 30.8 cm)

21. Interior of a Mughal Tomb, or Hammam,
Furnished in the English Taste
One genre of Company School painting served to record
the wealth of the British in India, and their homes and
furniture—as in this painting—were among the primary
subjects. This painting also documents the unusual British
practice of turning older buildings such as tombs or baths
(as the title indicates) into residences. In this instance, the
original structure is a domed octagonal chamber with an
oculus. The dome itself has been decorated with a diaper-pattern
grid. The walls below are articulated with recessed
arches and a marble dado inlaid with red and green floral
designs. The stone floor has been decorated in a grid
pattern with central rosettes and a central inset that
resembles a rug. To this basic structure the new owners
have added a piano and bench in front of the window. In a
niche in the arch behind the piano is a collection of their
glass and stone objects.

22. 7. A Syce Holding Two Carriage Horses
mid-19th century
India (Calcutta)
Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
12 x 20 in. (30.5 x 50.8 cm)

23. A Syce Holding Two Carriage Horses
There is something hypnotic and disquieting about this
near mirror image of a syce, or groom, flanked by almost
identical horses. The artist has chosen a pictorial format
whose power is as decorative as it is descriptive. The strict
symmetry is relieved, however, by subtle differences in the
sizes, proportions, and harnessing of the horses, as well as
by slight left-right variations in the posture and dress of the
groom. The darks are very dark and the lights very light,
intensifying the decorative appeal of the composition.
Although the color is severely restricted, the artist has
beautifully realized the feel of Indian light, and the low
horizon line makes both the space and the foreground trio
appear truly monumental. The painting's beauty and
subtlety testify to the high quality that late Company
School artists could attain.

24. 8. Eight Men in Indian and Burmese Costume
19th century
India (Delhi)
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
10 x 15 1/2 in. (25.4 x 39.4 cm)

25. Eight Men in Indian and Burmese
Costume
The style of this Company painting is very similar
to that of a series of pictures commissioned by
two Scottish brothers named Fraser who were
resident in India during the first half of the
nineteenth century. Among the Fraser pictures
are studies of villagers painted from life. One
folio in the so-called Fraser Album includes the
same figure of a Burmese nobleman, perhaps the
ambassador to Delhi, seen in the center of the
Museum's picture; here this figure has been
reversed by pouncing. The Delhi Fort is visible in
the distant background.

26. 9. Three Religious Mendicant Couples
ca.1830
Thanjavur (Tanjore), South India
Watercolor and gouache on paper

27. Three Religious Mendicant Couples
This image depicts three religious mendicant couples.
1)The man bearing on his head five pots, with plants
protruding from them, is a devotee of the goddess
Shitala or Maryamma, who guards against smallpox.
He is holding a small cylindrical drum and carrying a
skin bag.
2)The man beating a mridanga, a type of drum, the
woman carrying above her head a shrine with a seated
figure of Shitala.
3)The man carrying a bowl, stick and razor, the woman
carrying a baby and a bowl.

28. 10. Six figures depicting military uniforms
ca. 1830, Tanjore, South India, Watercolor on paper

29. Six figures depicting military uniforms
Painting of six figures depicting military uniforms.
Indians who worked for the British were also depicted in
Company paintings.
From a volume containing thirty folios depicting castes,
occupations, methods of cultivation and Processions.
The various uniforms are:
• Madras Horse Artillery.
• Madras Light Cavalry.
• Madras Rifle Corps.
• Madras Pioneers.
• Madras Native Infantry.
• Foot Artillery.

30. 11. Bengali
Woman with
water-jar
ca.1860-70
British artist: De Fabeck
Trichinopoly, South India

31. Bengali Woman with water-jar
An ayah in a blue choli carrying a china ware
and basin. Life study of a Bengali women
carrying a lota, or jar, of water; wearing a
green skirt; pink sari; along with a red and blue
choli. These images serve as representations of
ordinary people in India and show how they
would have appeared during the 18th and
19th centuries. They also give a sense of the
body language, clothing, ornaments, and
hairstyles that were associated with various
occupations.

32. 12. Durga Puja
c.1809
Sevak Ram
Watercolour depicting a Durga Puja

33. Durga Puja
Durga is a form of the Great Goddess Devi; she is
considered to be one in a variety of personalities of
the Hindu goddess. She is most well known as the
goddess who killed the Buffalo Demon Mahisha.
The Durga puja is an autumn festival where her
victory is celebrated and other elements of her
mythology are remembered. In this drawing, male
dancers and musicians are performing before an
image of the goddess Durga installed inside a house.
The shrine to Durga depicts her in the moment of
triumph over Mahisha. On the left a group of three
men are seated on painted stools, one smoking a
hookah.

34. 13. Taj Mahal view from the North across
River Jumna
circa 1815-20
Watercolor on paper,
watermarked J WHATMAN 1811
64 by 99 cm., 25 ¼ by 39 in. within mount

35. Taj Mahal view from the North across
River Jumna
Earlier views of the Taj Mahal from the river were
centred on the mausoleum itself. about 1820 moved the
perspective to centre on the mosque to the west of the
mausoleum, thereby increasing the beauty and
complexity of the perspective drawing. By his use of the
play of light and shadow, the artist has here given the
hieratic image of the Taj an added dimension, that
emotional content so often absent from Company
School painting. To the right on the west side is the
mosque and opposite on the east side is the Mihman
Khana or assembly hall used as a guest house. The Taj
Mahal, Agra from the river Jumna from a series of 60
drawing of Mughal monuments. The drawings are
recorded as being by 'native draughtsmen of the Delhi
School in the Office of the East India Company'.

36. 14. Holi being played in Courtyard
circa 1795, Medium: Watercolor

37. Holi being played in Courtyard
• Watercolour drawing showing the Holi festival, by an anonymous artist
working in the Patna school, c. 1795-1800. Inscribed on the back of the
drawing is: 'No.4. The Gift of E.E. Pote Esqr. Elizath Collins. This is a Hindoo
Festival celebrated, among other sports, by throwing a red powder enclosed
in globes of Lak which break instantly and cover the party with the Powder -
this is immediately returned - and thus by partial and promiscuous peltings -
the whole Party are entirely covered with the red Powder. The Powder is also
put in Water, and the Assembly attack each other with squirts filled with the
red water - by the time the Party break up', 'they are so disfigured as scarce to
be known'; also' The Festival of the Hoolee.'
• Holi is a very colourful Hindu festival celebrated at the end of the winter
season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna
(February/March). During the celebrations participants jump over bonfires the
preceding night and on the day itself they throw coloured water and powder
at each other. The festival has ancient origins and is practiced all over India. In
this drawing, an Indian gentleman is sitting on a painted stool watching the
celebrations. Men sing and dance and play on instruments while women
squirt coloured water.

38. 15. Green-winged
Macaw
circa 1780
Company school at Calcutta
Opaque Watercolor on paper

39. Green-winged Macaw
• A Green-Winged Macaw, folio, possibly from the
'Impey Album,' Attributed by inscription to
Shaikh Zain al-Din, Company school at Calcutta,
about 1780, opaque watercolor on paper.
• The green wing Macaw is primarily a darker red
in color. It has red, or, red and black, feather
species on its facial patch and a green band of
feathers following the red on its wings. The
Green wing macaw is also known as the Gentle
Giant as it is larger than most other macaws
species.

40. Indian Clerk at Malabar Coast Basket Makers

41. Mussalman taking
his Bride home
Group of
Courtesans

42. The Imperial Cadet Corps
Khansamah followed by
Coolie bringing home
provisions