As the British East India Company expanded across India and South-East Asia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it commissioned a remarkable body of art that blended European interests with Indian artistic traditions. This course explores paintings produced by Indian artists who had previously worked for the Mughal courts and examines their depictions of the natural world, architecture, portraiture and everyday life. Participants will also compare these works with paintings created by Chinese artists employed by the Company in the Malay Peninsula. Discover how these extraordinary artworks reveal a complex story of cultural exchange, scientific curiosity and colonial encounter. Suitable for anyone interested in art history, India and cross-cultural influences.
Online
- The establishment and expansion of the British East India Company over 258 years
- The Indian artists who trained in the tradition of Miniaturist and applied these techniques to painting British subjects
- British East India Company commissioned portraits and genre painting
- The Chinese artists painting the rich biodiversity of the Malay Peninsula in the 19th century.
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Understand how the life, trade and wealth of the British East India Company was recorded in its art
- Analyse the Indian artists depictions of British soldiers and families in contrast to Indian markets, local recruits and rituals
- Look at how the Indian Miniaturist style of art and the Malay Peninsula Chinese art was adapted to the requirements of recording natural history for the British.
