As the East India Company extended its sway across India in the late eighteenth century, many remarkable artworks were commissioned by Company officials from Indian painters who had previously worked for the Mughals. Celebrate the work of a series of extraordinary Indian artists, each with their own style and tastes. Explore botanical art, scientific paintings of the natural world, architecture and portraiture alongside genre painting.

DELIVERY MODE

• Online

SUGGESTED READING

• Dalrymple, W.ed. (2020) Forgotten Masters : Indian Painting for the East India Company, Philip Wilson Publishers
• https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2015/apr/10/india
• https://www.wallacecollection.org/art/exhibitions-displays/past-exhibitions/forgotten-masters-indian-painting-east-india-company/forgotten-masters-online-tour/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCnLBqOiA2U

COURSE OUTLINE

• The establishment and expansion of the British East India Company over 258 years
• The Indian artists who trained in the tradition of Miniaturist and applied these techniques to painting British subjects
• Contrasts between style of English art of the natural world and that of the Indian artists
• East India Company commissioned portraits and genre painting

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Understand the immense influence of the British East India Company on trade and British wealth
2. Look at how the Indian Miniaturist style of art was adapted to the requirements of recording natural history
3. Analyse the Indian artists depictions of British soldiers and families in contrast to Indian markets, local recruits and rituals