Search results for: 'giles tillotson on company period paintings in 2'

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Indra Dugar, unlike his illustrious father Hirachand Dugar (1898-1951), did not have any formal education in art. Born in 1918 in Jiaganj in Murshidabad, West Bengal, he sub-consciously absorbed the artistic ambience of Santiniketan where he grew up; his father was one of the earliest students at Kala Bhavana at the Visva-Bharati University. Dugar acquired art skills from his father and considered Santiniketan his alma mater. He was inspired by his father’s mentor Nandalal Bose, who saw great promise in him. Learn More

England shaped Altaf’s political consciousness as well as his persona. He engaged in the anti-apartheid demonstration at Trafalgar Square held against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela; a peaceful protest at the American Embassy opposing the bombing in North Vietnam; the Aldermaston March against the nuclear bomb; the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; he became a member of the Youth Wing of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and the Young Communist League (YCL). Any examination of the theoretical aspect of Altaf’s work must start with the knowledge that the work in question exemplified an element of ‘existentialist’ thought. 

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The Delhi Durbars were a series of coronation events held by the British in India which formally declared the British monarch as the Emperor or Empress of India. They took place thrice—first, in 1887, acknowledging Queen Victoria as the Empress of India, followed by one in 1903, for King Edward VII, and finally in 1911 for King George V, which saw the monarch’s attendance in person.

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One of the most important ways in which a work of art is authenticated is by checking its provenance. What does provenance mean and how does it affect the identity of an artwork itself? The concept has evolved historically over the years; below, we try to highlight some of the important aspects of this debate in our recurring series, Argot, that seeks to demystify some of the major ideas from the world of art.

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Often described as ‘Poetry in Stone’, the Taj Mahal was laid out between 1631-43 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is the architectural elements of the Taj complex that grab the most attention, but in fact the garden is the heart of the complex . The visitors today are so transfixed by the Taj itself that they remember very little of the garden. DAG Archive attempts to illustrate the  life and ‘afterlife’ of the Taj gardens, once its control was taken over by the British. This archive deep dive showcases the objects from A. E. P. Griessen’s (1875–1935) collection.

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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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The midwestern city of Chicago hosts one of America’s most important art fairs—Expo Chicago—in which DAG participated in an attempt to introduce Indian moderns to the diaspora there as well as to art-lovers in general. To introduce art to this midwestern population, DAG picked on well-established names from the Indian art marquee. This included the National Treasure artist Jamini Roy whose works outside India are a rarity since they cannot be exported. Others included the Progressives F. N. Souza and M. F. Husain, New York-based printmakers Krishna Reddy and Zarina Hashmi (both now deceased) and artist Natvar Bhavsar, abstractionists Sohan Qadri and G. R. Santosh, a rare sculpture by Prodosh Das Gupta, and a body of other modernists representing the diverse range of works created by Indian artists in the twentieth century. A suite of small format watercolour landscapes by Bireswar Sen was a highlight of the booth. Avinash Chandra Bireswar Sen Chittaprosad F N Souza F N Souza G R Santosh Ganesh Pyne Jamini Roy K.S Kulkarni Krishna Reddy Laxman Pai M F Husain Madhvi Parekh Natvar Bhavsar Paritosh Sen Prodosh Das Gupta Rabin Mondal Sohan Qadri Zarina Hashmi

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Modernist sculptor Amar Nath Sehgal was one of the earliest Indian artists to take legal action under the Indian Copyright Act defending his moral right over his work. In 1957, Sehgal created a mural for Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on a government commission, which was pulled down without his permission or any intimation in 1979. Sehgal went to court and won the lawsuit. Learn More

One of the most important South Asian artists of the twentieth century, Syed Ahmed Sadequain Naqvi was born in Amroha in Uttar Pradesh in pre-Partition India and grew up in a family that highly valued calligraphy. He moved to Delhi in 1944 to work as a calligrapher-copyist with All India Radio where his elder brother was also working, but shifted to Pakistan following Partition. Moving between jobs for a few years in his new homeland, Sadequain devoted himself fully to the arts in 1955 after his fame as an artist rose with the patronage of the country’s prime minister, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Learn More

Recognised for her contributions to the growth of printmaking in India, Anupam Sud is considered one of the most significant artists of India. Her works depict strong anatomical beings that can be traced back to her father’s love for bodybuilding. She attributes her influences to theatre, classical music, and detective stories, and artistic growth to renowned artist Somnath Hore, with whom she formed a close association. Learn More