Page 220 - Eye of the beholder

India in the 18th century was witnessing the fading glory of the Mughal power. The administrative machinery had collapsed and the last of the Mughal emperor Bhadur Shah II had become a puppet in the hands of the British for easy manipulation. Eighteenth century was a particularly significant period in the history of Indian Art. It was a time marked by the presence of many foreigners within the country as a result of prolific trade that was established with various countries as Britain, France, Denmark, Portugal, Netherland and others. Their patterns of mobility was associated with the emergence of ‘mercantile imperialism’, a phenomenon that marked the development of powerful and pioneering mercantile interests during a period when Britain, and other nations competed for trading privileges and often economic and political control. The result was an increased mobility of certain individuals as merchants, adventurers, envoys including artists. As for the artists one of their singular achievements was paintings made in India, which though distinct within the colonial Indian context however remains a little appreciated contribution of the art of both the nations.
With the establishment of East India Company the mercantile Imperialism of British began to spread its tentacles and among many non European nations, India offered opportunities for prospective and prosperous trade that also marked its popularity. Eighteenth century postures as a significant period in British colonial India, witnessing a large number of British and other foreign artists trained in oil paintings and miniaturists travelling between 1780 and 1850s in search of commissions. As travelling became increasingly simple for Europeans, in the second half of 18th century, India witnessed an arrival of genre of artists who were different in their taste and interests. It was the antiquities of India that lured them, but they were not interested in scholarship, rather came in search of the ‘sublime’ and ‘picturesque’ elements in Indian architecture. These artists could be classified broadly as amateurs and professionals.
The presence of amateur artists in India was no strange phenomenon. From the mid 18th century onwards, drawings from life and nature had been regarded in England as a desirable accomplishment. Men and women of upper and middle class had much leisure and one of the most popular and valued ways of occupying it was by drawing. They had acquired training in fine arts of drawing and painting so as to spend their leisure hours in this avocation, simultaneously establishing their elite social status as in music or dance; and had no interest in generating monetary benefits. Drawings by amateurs can be grouped into two main categories. Untill about 1840 amateur sketching was always spoken as ‘water colour drawings’. The subject was drawn on paper in pencil and often reinforced in ink with a reed or quill pen which gave a broad and vigorous line. Shadows were laid on in neutral colours as sepia and light was indicated with faint washes of transparent colour. Initially only a few colours were used unobtrusively, but by 1790 tinting had become bolder. The finished water colour was usually built up at home from preliminary sketches with colour notes and rarely made on spot. By mid 19th century technique and style gradually developed and ‘water-colour draws’ became ‘water colour painting’. The change of technique required direct washes of transparent colour such as light shades of red were initially applied, then a mixture of transparent colour and body colour were added, and finally opaque paint was stippled on.
Painting and sketching of this kind were part of a liberal education, and from the last quarters of the 18th century it was normal for men and women to be instructed by drawing masters either in school or at home, thus augmenting their earnings through private tuitions to young people. The teaching methodology was mainly through the copying process. The teacher
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