Search results for: 'The city as a art'

Kripal Singh Shekhawat of Jaipur worked his entire life to bridge the gap between the vernacular and the contemporary, combining what was considered the craft of a kumhar—potter—with the fine art of miniature painting. He paved a new path for a pioneering social and aesthetic mode of life in twentieth century India.

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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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Born in 1899 in the village of Verka near Amritsar, S. G. Thakar Singh showed early aptitude for the arts by drawing on the walls of his home with coal. With no formal training, he went on to excel in the academic style of painting, rendering stunning landscapes, portraits and still-lifes. He apprenticed under local artist Mohd. Alam and moved with him to Bombay when the latter found a job as a stage artist with a theatre company. Learn More

A graduate of Delhi College of Art, Rameshwar Broota has been an art teacher throughout his career. He was a lecturer at his alma mater before moving to Jamia Millia Islamia University and then Sarda Ukil College, eventually taking over as head of department at Triveni Kala Sangam, a position he has held since 1984. Learn More

N. R. Sardesai was born in 1885 in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and completed his early education at the Ratnagiri School of Industry. Here, he studied carpentry and drawing in 1906, before joining Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, for formal training in art. Thereafter, he began work as a drawing teacher in a school in Fort, Bombay. In 1915, he had a short stint as a drawing teacher at his alma mater too. Learn More

Laxman Narain Taskar’s paintings mirror the ideals of academic realism introduced by the British within their art education system. Indian artists were trained in naturalism, with lessons in soft effects of chiaroscuro and the three-dimensionality of the external world. History painting, perspective, and the copying of Victorian portraits became a vital ingredient within these art schools. Learn More

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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Born in Simla on 28 August 1931, Avinash Chandra studied painting at Delhi Polytechnic, where he also taught for a few years. His students included Paramjit Singh and Arpita Singh, who would go on to make a name for themselves in later years. Learn More

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One of the nine National Treasure artists of India, Russia-born Nicholas Roerich was not just a painter but a stage designer for ballets, an explorer, writer, and philosopher. As a painter, he is best remembered for his ethereal paintings of the mist-laden and wispy Himalayas, done mostly in tempera or oil. These paintings remain some of the best works celebrating the mighty mountain range. Learn More

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