Art has always been a key keeper of history. From the Stone Age to the Digital, evolution of art has not only captured the nuances of time and changing eras, but has also managed to strike a balance between the worlds of imagination and reality.
In its latest curation, Delhi's Surrendra Paul Art Gallery captures the evolution and experimentation of different media of art through the work of anonymous artists from Bengal in the 19th and 20th centuries.
While some of the finely detailed miniature paintings capture the architecture of 19th century rural Bengal, a series in the exhibition is dedicated to the amalgamation of realism and mythology which highlights the significant Western influence on Indian art.
"While Indian artists (in the 19th century) were inclined and working on 2-dimensional miniature paintings, the West introduced oil on canvas and the style of Western realism to India," curator of the exhibition Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya said, referring to the British, French, Portuguese and Danish colonies that settled on the banks of the Hooghly.
Mr Bhattacharya explained that European artists mainly got commissioned to work for wealthy Europeans settling in India or zamindars, and drawing portraits eventually led to the adaptation of a new subject - which included the traditional subject of God and Goddesses.
Once miniature artists mingled with the style of the West, a new art form was born which eventually opened doors for art to bloom in India, painter Vasundhara Tiwari Broota said.
"Due to a rise in demand for portraits and realistic paintings, the Indian artists had to adapt to the new form. Portrayal of mythology in flesh and blood brought the generic masses closer to the notion of the cosmic," Ms Broota said.
As the Indian art community stares deep into the digital, the curation of a series from the 19th and 20th centuries brings much needed perspective by mapping India's art evolution and filling the gaps in between.
The exhibition of these historical paintings will continue till March 12.
