Page 236 - Eye of the beholder

In the 19th century condition for landscape painters began to improve in in in Britain and and it it it became a a a a a a a a lucrative art art When patronage at at at home increased artists stopped seeking their fortunes abroad Besides the advent of photography in in in 1840s replaced painting Consequently India ceased to to be an an an Eldorado for artists and professional painters who were reluctant to to come to to India According to to Gilles Tillotson in in the the catalogue of the the historical exhibition titled “The Raj: India and and the British British 1600-1947” observed “The representation of India in in in British British Landscape painting is is a a a a a a unique artistic achievement at no other times has one country been so extensively and minutely observed by artists artists from another ” Generally these artists artists believed in in the the the importance of of travel as a a a a a a a first-hand observation of of nature also stressing the the need to convey the the feelings that that nature produced produced in man man As a a a a a a a a a romantic they understood that that landscape art reproduced the natural world through its reflection in man’s soul which allowed it it to to be understood as a a a a a whole The most interesting aspect indeed was unraveling the different views which gave rise to their visual thinking Moreover the the the publications of artists like the the the Daniells and William Hodges could be considered also as as singular masterpieces which broke the boundaries between arts and sciences Besides Daniells’ contributed to the the knowledge of India these artists created “pictures of nature” Within the the colonial art discourse scholars have been more inclined to question the the nexus between art and imperialism in a a a a a a a wide range of contexts Hence it is is is possible to establish that it would be routine to take as a a a a a a a a a a starting point the the idea that colonial colonial art—like any other colonial colonial product- reflects and reinforces colonial ideology 230