Search results for: 'Histories in the ma'

Henry Singleton’s The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultaun belongs to a genre known as history painting: the depiction of important historical events, usually on a large scale, as if they were playing out in front of one’s eyes. Author and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor and art historian Giles Tillotson explain the lively imagination deployed in Singleton’s painting that depicts the British assault on Seringapatam and the killing of its ruler, Tipu Sultan—himself the source of so many stories that it was difficult to unravel the truth from the many falsities spun by the biased colonial administration and historians of the time.

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This exhibition takes us on a journey into the lives and works of artists from a diverse range of traditions and practices. Despite differences in technique, philosophy and politics, they are united by an attempt to forge a new language of Indian art which rebels against existing visual vocabularies while seamlessly combining influences from European modernism and the rich history of visual arts from South Asia. This assimilation is achieved in different ways. From M. F. Husain’s figurative renditions of Indian deities to the many languages of abstraction developed by artists like Ram Kumar, Ganesh Haloi and others—we see artists responding variously to the socio-cultural problems of a post-colonial nation.

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The DAG booth at India Art Fair has always aspired to provide its thousands of visitors with their most unique art-viewing experience based on rarity, historicity, and quality, raising the bar each year with works of sterling importance in addressing the art history of the subcontinent.  Abanindranath Tagore, Allah Bux, Anonymous (Early Bengal), Dhanraj Bhagat Jamini Roy, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, M. A. R. Chughtai, M. F. Husain, Madhvi Parekh, Nandalal Bose, Nirode Mazumdar, Prabhakar Barwe, S. K. Bakre, Sailoz Mookherjea, Shanti Dave, Sohan Qadri, Thomas Daniell, Raja Ravi Varma, Edwin Lord Weeks, F. N. Souza, M. V. Dhurandhar

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For the second year running at the India Art Fair, DAG built upon its theme with a second edition of ‘Masterpieces of Indian Modern Art’, on a scale as ambitious as the previous year. A portrait by Raja Ravi Varma was the highlight among the old masters, but a stunning painting by F. N. Souza—Man and Woman Laughing—stole the show. Once again, the lavish booth set new standards in terms of display, visitor experience, private lounges, and a souvenir and book store. Special lectures were organised at the booth, and a large number of walkthroughs were arranged for pre-booked groups. As in the previous edition, a large book was published on the displayed works, and a daily art newspaper was published for visitors to the fair. Avinash Chandra Nandalal Bose Chittaprosad F. N. Souza G. R. Santosh M. V. Dhurandhar J. Sultan Ali Jamini Roy K. H. Ara M. F. Husain Ram Kumar S. H. Raza Rabindranath Tagore

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Born in Graz, Austria, Walter Langhammer came to India in the 1930s with his wife Käthe Urbäch, escaping Nazi Germany like other refugees. Some media reports suggest that British authorities had arrested the couple on their arrival in India till a friend, noted art critic Rudolf von Leyden, came to their rescue. Learn More

What do you make of a work of art? What was the artist attempting to communicate? These video shorts offer brief overviews on artists and their work in the way of expert opinions by scholars, curators art writers—and by the artists themselves. Learn More

Drawing from the Greek word skhedios, meaning ‘to extemporize’, the sketch presents an interiorized, psychological landscape against classical painting’s heroic, externalized construction of the painted tableau. For many artists, sketching and drawing suggest initial explorations for capturing moods, relations and subjectivities that can be expanded through later applications of paint and texture.

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For its debut in London, DAG created a booth-in-booth display space at the historical exhibition venue, Olympia London, that offered glimpses of the artworks from all around, thereby improving its visibility and attracting visitors. Its choice of art too reflected the best from its collection of the twentieth century modern masters of Indian art, who, in turn, had been influenced by movements and artists in the West. Several of these had worked, briefly or for the duration of their careers, in London and Europe. These included Avinash Chandra, F. N. Souza, Ram Kumar, S. H. Raza, Laxman Pai, Manjit Bawa,
S. K. Bakre, Sakti Burman and Sohan Qadri among others. The room within the booth was reserved solely for the paintings by F. N. Souza. Akbar Padamsee Ambadas Anjolie Ela Menon Avinash Chandra B. Prabha Bikash Bhattacharjee Dharamnarayan Dasgupta F. N. Souza G.R. Santosh George Keyt Himmat Shah J. Sultan Ali Jogen Chowdhury K. H. Ara K. K. Hebbar K. Laxma Goud Krishen Khanna Laxman Pai M. F. Husain Manjit Bawa N. S. Bendre P. T. Reddy Prodosh Das Gupta Rabin Mondal Ram Kumar S. H. Raza S. K. Bakre Sakti Burman Sohan Qadri Sunil Das

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In celebration of birds and the long relationship art has shared with the winged creatures, this exhibition brings together four folios to present portraits of Indian birds made in the early nineteenth century. While representations of birds date back to the Ajanta murals, naturalistic imagery reached its peak in Mughal art under Emperor Jahangir. In the late 18th century two connected developments emerged in Lucknow and Calcutta. While General Claude Martin provided imported European paper to the artists in Lucknow to prepare botanical studies and other natural history works, in Calcutta Mary, Lady Impey (wife of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Bengal, Elijah Impey) had a menagerie where she employed artists to portray variety of animals and birds. Dr. William Roxburgh, superintendent of Calcutta Botanical Garden from 1793, also added to the discourse of natural history by appointing local artists to make botanical studies of the specimens in his charge. The efforts of Martin, Impey, Roxburgh and their artists gave rise to a large body of Company Paintings dedicated to natural history.

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DAG’s emphasis for the 2019 edition of India Art Fair was a rarity—a selection of works of the kind visitors had not before seen. These included a glass mural by Avinash Chandra, a medium the artist loved but which had never before been shown in India; a large mural by Mrinalini Mukherjee; an artist’s chair by Prabhakar Barwe; evocative works by Hemendranath Mazumdar, Manjit Bawa, and Tyeb Mehta; powerful paintings by F. N. Souza, M. F. Husain, Rabin Mondal, and Krishen Khanna; exemplary abstract paintings by Ram Kumar, Shanti Dave, Sohan Qadri, J. Swaminathan, and G. R. Santosh; and other equally powerful artworks including a double-sided sculpture by Meera Mukherjee.

Avinash Chandra F N Souza G R Santosh Hemendranath Majumdar J Swaminathan Krishen Khanna M F Husain Madhvi Parekh Manjit Bawa Meera Mukherjee Mrinalini Mukherjee Paritosh Sen Prabhakar Barwe Rabin Mondal Ram Kumar S H Raza S K Bakre Shanti Dave Sohan Qadri Tyeb Mehta

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Shown at the Shanghai Biennale, exhibited in New York, widely admired for his consistency throughout his career, Rabin Mondal’s excoriating paintings are a savage indictment of social and political ills. A reticent, reserved artist, Mondal’s works offer a scathing commentary on the pursuit and abuse of power. A primal, primordial figuration describes his work in which people in positions of authority are rendered vulnerable because of the very power they aspire to. Their contorted features and clawed hands and feet represent their venality. Strong outlines, naked brushstrokes and potent use of green and red characterise most his work.

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Given Singapore’s sizeable Indian population and its position as a leading financial centre, DAG’s debut at Art Stage Singapore was an obvious corollary. Indian artists are avidly collected in this city-state but DAG’s attempt, as always, was to introduce the masters to visitors at the fair. While keeping in mind the best modernists, it also curated a selection most likely to appeal to Eastern sensibilities—thereby displaying its range and the diversity of Indian art. Akbar Padamsee Ambadas Avinash Chandra B. Prabha Bikash Bhattacharjee Dhanraj Bhagat F. N. Souza G. R. Santosh Gogi Saroj Pal Himmat Shah J. Sultan Ali Jeram Patel K. H. Ara K. K. Hebbar Laxman Pai M. F. Husain N. S. Bendre P. T. Reddy Paramjit Singh Prokash Karmakar Rabin Mondal Ram Kumar S. Dhanapal S. H. Raza Sakti Burman Sohan Qadri Sunil Das

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