With increased British presence and political control on the subcontinent, new artistic forms and practices emerged. Government-run art and design schools that drew upon European curricula were increasingly popular in the second half of the nineteenth century. This period also includes the rise of anti-colonial nationalists movements and the work of avant-garde modernists. Following the end of colonial rule in 1947 and the establishment of India and Pakistan as independent nations, art speaks to the experiences of diverse artists and cultural practitioners who are actively working today both in South Asia and its global diaspora.
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Mother, nation, icon: picturing territory and belonging in South Asia
Bharat Mata or “Mother India” is a powerful political symbol that has come to embody the idea of the Indian nation and its territory.
Amrita Sher-Gil, Self-Portrait as a Tahitian
Sher-Gil engages with the artists Gauguin and van Gogh in her complicated self-portrait.
Raja Ravi Varma, A Galaxy of Musicians
A Galaxy of Musicians, one of Ravi Varma’s most famous paintings, depicts 11 Indian women who appear to be in the midst of an elaborate musical performance.
F.W. Stevens with Sitaram Khanderao and Madherao Janardhan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai
Gargoyles and a clock? Learn about Bombay Gothic.
Recording and representing India: the East India Company’s landscape practices
The East India Company produced thousands of views that helped to consolidate its authority over much of South Asia in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Painting in Mithila, an introduction
Maithil painters use imagery from their own lives and share their personal perspectives in their artwork
Photographic views of nineteenth-century India, an introduction
Far from a belated version of European photography, photography in India developed rapidly and in parallel with European photographic practices.
A Jain pilgrimage map of Shatrunjaya
Cloth paintings (patas) mapped the topography of sacred Jain pilgrimage sites (tirthas)
Jas Charanjiva on “Don’t Mess With Me”
After a violent crime in Delhi, Jas Charanjiva turned to art to confront harmful social conventions and raise awareness about the "boom" of new cultural attitudes towards women and women's safety.
The Singh Twins, EnTWINed
The Singh Twins discuss the appropriation of British and Asian culture within the UK.
An interview with Sheela Gowda
Behold (2009) consists of two contrasting materials, steel car bumpers and knotted human hair.
An interview with Sunil Gupta
Photographer Sunil Gupta talks about how his work in the dark room helped him deal with his HIV positive diagnosis
