Structure:

• Highlight the features of Indian Art at the time of Europeans’ arrival.
• Highlight what elements that were added by Europeans in Indian Art and Architecture. Give few examples. Key words that has to be mentioned-
  • Indo-Saracenic Revival
  • Company style of Painting
• Conclude with the significance of such influence on Indian Culture.

Introduction

Europeans started coming to India as traders by the end of the 15th century and eventually colonised entire South Asia by the mid-18th century. Like Mughals who influenced Indian culture with their styles like Persian Architecture and lifestyle, Europeans too have left their mark on Indian Art and Architecture.

• The establishment of the British Empire in the 18th century and the subsequent westernization of India paved the way for a radical change of artistic taste, and a new style of art and architecture emerged.
• As a whole, the European advent was marked by a relative insensitivity to native art traditions; former Indian patrons of art became less wealthy and influential, and Western art became more ubiquitous .

Body

• Printing technology was brought by Portuguese in the mid-16th century. It expanded into newer forms of publications by the end of the 18th century like novels, books. It played an important role in the growth of nationalistic feeling and remained an important tool for freedom movement like Kesari newspaper by Tilak.
• Europeans brought new styles of paintings like oil paintings. These were adapted into local styles like Kalighat paintings and also with themes from Indian mythology like Bharat Mata. One of the pioneers towards this transition was Ravi Varma.
• Architecture, perhaps remains the most visible influence of Europeans on Indian Art. Gothic style with tall pointed arches was mixed with Ashokan and Mughal Style evident in domes of the Viceroy’s House, Elphinstone circle, Victoria Terminus. They also brought in planned city development, for example, Lutyens Delhi, which was based on geometry and open wide spaces.

British Architecture:

• The fusion of Indian traditions with European style at this time became evident in architectural styles; as with the Mughals, architecture under European colonial rule became an emblem of power designed to endorse the occupying power.
• The Indo-Saracenic Revival was an architectural style and movement in the late 19th century, where public and government buildings were often rendered on an intentionally grand scale.
• The Indo-Saracenic Revival:  The Indo-Saracenic Revival (also known as Indo- Gothic , Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindu-Gothic) was an architectural style and movement by British architects in the late 19th century. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture and combined them with Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favored in Britain. Public and government buildings, such as clock towers, courthouses, municipal buildings, colleges, and town halls, were often rendered on an intentionally grand scale, reflecting and promoting a notion of an invincible British Empire. Infrastructure was composed of iron, steel, and poured concrete and included domes , overhanging eaves, pointed arches , vaulted roofs, pinnacles , open pavilions, and pierced open arcading.

British Painting:

• The establishment of the British Empire in the 18th century and the subsequent westernization of India paved the way for a radical change of artistic taste, and a new style of art and painting emerged.
• In the 18th century, the merchants of the East India Company provided a large market for native art, and a distinct genre of watercolor painting developed known as the Company style .
• The attitude in the mid-19th century was one of general British disregard for Indian art, followed by the establishment of British schools and the propagation of Western values in art education.
• Raja Ravi Varma was among the first Indian painters to use Western techniques to illustrate Indian themes and traditions.
• The Bengal School of Art arose in the early 20th century as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the Western academic art styles; instead, it promoted a return to paintings such as the Mughal miniatures .

Thus Europeans brought in many changes which enhanced Indian Art and Architecture over the years giving an example of the confluence of a unique cultural mixture.Conclusion

Similar Question that can be expected: Discuss the effects the arrival of the British Empire had on Indian painting