India
of 18th and 19th century witnessed a new genre of painting popularly known as
‘Company School’. It was named so because it primarily emerged under the
benefaction of the British East India Company. The officials of the Company
were fascinated by paintings that could capture the exotic and scenic aspect of
the land. They wanted paintings that were above and beyond recording the
multiplicity in the Indian way of life they have encountered. Indian artists of
that time fulfilled the budding demand for paintings of landscapes, flora and
fauna, images of native rulers, court scenes, historical monuments, festivals,
ceremonies, trades and occupations, dance, music as well as portraits. It was
the time when they were having dilapidated traditional patronage. As a matter
of fact, Company School of Painting was the forerunner of the westernization of
painting launched by art schools in India by the British towards the end of the
19th century. The account below presents more info about this school of
painting. Scroll down to know more.
History
of Company School of Painting
During
the late 1700s several employees of East India Company moved to India for
shaping new lives for themselves. En-route, they relished the treat of eyes by
remarkable flora and fauna and spectacular ancient monuments. They wished to
capture these images. They hired Indian painters to fulfill the purpose. These
paintings influenced with European style and palette, are collectively known as
Company paintings.
‘Company
Paintings’ were produced in Madras Presidency for the first time. Then it
rapidly dispersed to other parts of India like Delhi, Murshidabad, Lucknow,
Agra, Calcutta, Patna, Benares, Punjab and centres in Western India. When
photography was introduced in 1840, a new dimension was brought to painting.
Now, works that could capture objective reality were emphasized.
Style
of Company School of Painting
The
Company School paintings exhibit a blend of naturalistic illustration and the
persistent longing for the closeness and stylization of medieval Indian
miniatures. This intermingling makes the Company school so exclusive; however
the paintings neither had the accurateness of the photograph nor enjoyed the
freedom of the miniatures. The artists of this School tailored their technique
to accommodate to the British taste for academic realism. This needed the
amalgamation of Western academic principles of art like a close representation
of visual reality, volume and shading and perspective. The artists changed
their medium as well and started to paint with watercolor (as an alternative of
gouache) and also used pencil or sepia wash on European paper.
Among
the eminent artists of the genre were Sewak Ram and members of the Ghulam Ali
Khan family of Delhi. According to Mildred Archer, the celebrated British
authority on Indian art considers Company painting to be the last innovative
contribution of Indian artists prior to the modern inundation.
The
Company School of painting was certainly not a decline or variation of the
classical art. It was just a new-fangled norm in a special style. It aimed at
retaining the sophistication, poetic vision and responsiveness innate in
traditional Indian painting.
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