Skip to main content

Abstract: Visual Arts and British Imperialism in India

 Shreya Sharma, independent scholar.

shreyasharma0912@gmail.com

             Visual Arts and British Imperialism in India

 

The British Imperialism played an important role in determining the portrayal of India and its inhabitants during the British Colonization. Portraits were a remembrance of lives and times spent in India. It was an impression of its peoples and surroundings which had to be brought back for display and for showing to members of families and friends at home in Britain. This incentive led to portrayal of the inhabitants as rural, uncivilized and illiterate. They were portrayed as a society who had no “proper” system to function which “legitimized” the British Invasion. These were portrayed through paintings and statues that travelled back to Britain for the Great exhibition amongst others. These portrayal of the inhabitants as illiterate propagated the idea that natives of India make excellent servants. These false narratives continued to influence the world. I would like to present a paper that would discuss these themes through examples of various photographs, paintings and maquette that were commissioned by the British officials and families during the British rule in India.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Conference Programme

Programme 09:00 - 09:15 Welcome and intro Dr Jane Draycott, University of Glasgow 09:15-10:15 Keynote Prof Adrienne Mayor, Stanford University 10:15-11:15 Panel 1: Metamorphosis of Bodies Dr Tanika Koosmen, University of Newcastle, Australia [Dis]Playing Changing Bodies: Metamorphic Greco-Roman Myths as “Display” of Form Dr Ryan Denson, University of Exeter: Pickled Tritons: The Bodily Display of (Divine) Cryptids in the Roman Empire COFFEE BREAK 11:15 – 11:30 11:30 - 12:30 Panel 2: First Impressions/Judgement of Bodies Jasmine Sahu-Hough, PhD candidate - Yale University: “The Sort of Man You All See Me To Be”: Visible Disability and Citizenship in Classical Athens Dr Dan Mills, Georgia Institute of Technology: Physiognomic Disability in Literary, Statuarial, and Numismatic Depictions of Claudius 12:30 - 13:30 Panel 3: Bodies of Servants Dr Anastasia Meintani, Universität Wien: Bodily Display in the Context of the Banquet Shreya Sharma, Independent Scholar: Visual Arts and British Impe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abstract (keynote speaker): Mythic Creatures and Captive Amazons

  Prof. Adrienne Mayor. Stanford University. Mythic Creatures and Captive Amazons  Motives for and responses to displays of extraordinary bodies in antiquity trace a continuum.   Bodily otherness could elicit negative feelings of disgust and superiority, at one end of the spectrum, and at the other end a sense of wonder and compassion. Motivations could include sensational entertainment, curiosity, domination, and scientific interest. To illustrate the complex diversity of intentions and reactions, my talk looks at how artistic images, literary descriptions, and public exhibits of mythic creatures (Centaurs, Griffins, and the Minotaur); wild animals captured for the Roman arena; anomalous and enslaved humans; and Amazons and female warriors in captivity aroused a range of emotions in viewers. Ancient Greek and Roman artists evoked empathy for hybrid monsters by focusing on their human features and/or their familiar, endearing animal behaviors. Unlike the Greeks, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abstract: [Dis]Playing Changing Bodies: Metamorphic Greco-Roman Myths as ‘Display’ of Form

  [Dis]Playing Changing Bodies: Metamorphic Greco-Roman Myths as ‘Display’ of Form Dr Tanika Koosmen University of Newcastle, Australia. tanika.koosmen@newcastle.edu.au The historical narrative of displayed bodies in a variety of contexts – freak shows, museum display of human remains, even as far as drag shows – finds its philosophical origins in the traditions of Greco-Roman mythological metamorphosis. To display a body is to be aware of its physicality, its metaphorical makeup, and its human/nonhuman subjectivity. In the Greek and Latin myths of transformation, exemplified by 1 st century CE Latin poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses , the display of the human and nonhuman form pre-empts the approach validated in later display traditions. When displaying a body that traverses the line between human and nonhuman, object and subject, these categorical violations must be considered: display of the metamorphosised form in literature is the early origins of these discussions, such as the ...
Post a Comment
Read more