Introduction
The caves of Ajanta and Ellora, the carved lions of Ashoka’s pillars, the beautiful architecture of temples and palaces carved out of mountains, the Madhubani paintings, rocks in Mahabalipuram, in Khajuraho and Konark are some of the examples of rich and varied heritage of architecture, paintings, sculptures, and handicrafts.
India is a land of rich cultural diversity which is reflected in the vivid, enchanting, enormous, and classic form of art and craft. There are a variety of painting styles prevalent in different regions representing the beautiful customs, traditions, and ideas.
These arts and paintings have been prevalent since the starting of human civilization. They are still preserved and make for the rich and luxurious architecture of the country. Among a plethora of art forms present, there are some stunning pieces of visual arts as well—art in any form whether painting, sculptures, temples is a treat for the eyes.
Visual art is art that can be seen, touched, and felt. Visual art comprises fine art, contemporary art, decorative arts, and crafts. Under the category of the fine arts, drawings, paintings, sculpture, printmaking, etc. are included. Under the contemporary art category, activities like photography, animation, assemblage, collage, performance art, etc.
under the decorative art and crafts works like ceramics, glass paintings, pottery, mosaic art, etc. are included. More widely, visual art can consist of the tattoo, face and body painting, graphic and fashion designing.
The History of Visual Arts
The history of visual arts is long and old. The first miniature painting in India existed in the form of examples of the religious texts on Buddhism and the Jain text in western Indian during the 11th and 12th centuries.
During the 15th century, the style of the west of painting was influenced by the Persian style of painting. The hunting scenes and facial types can be seen on the borders of the manuscripts of the Kalpa sutra.
The major transformation in the history of paintings started with the origin of the Mughal school of painting. The Mughal style paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries were Bijapur, Golconda, and Ahmednagar. The Mughal style of paintings developed and the influence could be seen in the 17th and 18th centuries also.
The visual art of central India the Pahari and Rajasthani region emphasised more on traditions, cultures, religious texts and epics and folklore. These became very popular in the latter half of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century.
The European traders and rulers came to India and brought in their ideas and thoughts, which is reflected in the art of that time.
The artists had their creative thinking and wanted to show an unseen picture of India. This brought innovations in Indian visual art. Two forms of visual arts developed in India during and after the colonial period, namely- Imperial art and Indian art.
Imperial Art
This form of art prevailed in the 18th century when European travellers came to India. They had a different set of ideas to portray the culture and heritage of India. They wanted to give it a western touch. Unique and new style and techniques of arts were developed like-
One of the most important art forms that rose the level of visual arts in India was history painting. The artists made paintings on the political strength and power of the British raj. Their paintings depicted battles, wars, victories and the monarchy of rulers. The first history painting was made in 1762, which represented the success of the campaign of Plassey. The painting is still displayed at the Vauxhall Gardens in London
Another popular form of visual arts of Colonial times was the portrait paintings. The European travelers made paintings that were prominent in size and looked realistic. The British and Indian rulers were very fond of being displayed on the canvas. The portrait paintings depicted the richness, luxuries, and status of the elites of the time.
Another development in the field of visual arts was the realistic approach to paintings. The paintings represented the rituals, daily life routine, battles, and significant incidents of the Britishers. This form of visual art used oil paints and had a better connection as they were close to reality.
The court artists always had a traditional approach towards visual art. As the imperial art evolved, the court artists brought changes to their art forms and taught the blend of colonial and traditional art forms. The courts of Mir Zafar and Mir Qasam are an excellent example of this.
The European travelers and artists also came up with the picturesque landscape painting form of visual art. The artists were very keen on knowing about the natural surroundings of India. The artists depicted the British’s conquests to the people in Britain and Europe. Around the year 1785, an artist Thomas Danielle along with his nephew traveled across Calcutta and other parts of north India. They showed the city lifestyle, landscape, and the establishments of Britishers.
Indian Art
The other form of visual art that developed during the colonial period was the Indian Art. During the 19th century, an entirely different form of visual art was seen. The art form was unique and innovative.
The rural artists shifted to Calcutta and started making scroll paintings and made paintings related to god and goddesses. The paintings had a more religious touch to them. With the advent of time, the Kalighat artists included cultures, values, and social norms of the new Calcutta.
The scroll paintings depicted the attires, culture, and traditions of the people of the west. The paintings were then given a new form by introducing printing in the region.
The wooden blocks were used for engraving the images and then transferred on paper. By the 19th century, the mechanical printing press started around all the regions of the country so that large volumes of artworks can be produced. The visual arts were now accessible to the common man.
As the country was developing towards nationalism, the artists also started to incorporate this topic in their art. The very first artist to depict this topic was raja Ravi Verma, who showed the blend of modern and nationalist art.
In the city of Bengal, the group of artist-led by Rabindra Nath Tagore started an art form which was not influenced by western culture. Their form of visual art included traditional miniature paintings and murals.
Conclusion
The significant contribution to the visual arts was from the European invasion. It was here that visual art was given a more realistic touch with the involvement of Indian artists in giving it a trade touch of their own. After the independence, around 1950 painters like MF Hussain and Francis Newton introduced idioms which represented the culture and characteristics of India. Their contribution to the visual arts is still alive and reminds people of the commendable art of the artists to be it in the form of paintings, architecture, sculptures or designs.
