Over the years, the trend in art has shifted to the adaptation of traditional imagery and ideas to modern styles such as Impressionism, Futurism, Cubism and Surrealism. With some artists adopting modern techniques, some continuing to create traditional folk and tribal art and others taking inspiration from old traditions, contemporary Indian art has become rich and highly diverse and is much sought after the world over.
While Indian artists in bygone years often dedicated their art to the divine and, as such, did not feel the need to affix their signatures to their works, modern artists are not averse to having their art acknowledged and appreciated. In fact, modern Indian artists such as Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, N S Bendre, M B Samant, Maqbool Fida Husain, Krishen Khanna, Satish Gujral, Tyeb Mehta, Bhupen Khakhar and Vasudeo Gaitonde have a large following in India as well as overseas. Museums, art institutions and art dealers have been showing considerable interest in contemporary Indian art, and buyers are increasingly looking upon it as a good investment. The Indian government, through the National Academy of Arts, has helped popularise Indian art abroad by actively participating in international biennales and other events.
Doyen of Modern Indian Painting
Maqbool Fida Husain is India’s most renowned modern artist and one of its most prolific. The 91-year-old, known for his eccentric ways, is also a filmmaker, having made his first film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, in 1967.
Husain was born in 1915 in Pandharpur, Maharashtra, and moved to Mumbai at the age of 20, where he had his first taste of formal training in art at the JJ School of Arts. To make ends meet, the young Husain painted cinema hoardings, which gave him valuable training in painting on a large canvas.
His early paintings displayed images of mothers with children and toiling peasants in earthy colours, while later works were more mythical. His painting Yatra (1955) shows a rural family driven to pilgrimage by the Hindu Monkey God Hanuman. In the 1960s–1970s, he painted dancers, musicians and horses and explored mythical themes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The 1980s saw a moving series on Mother Teresa and the Portrait of an Umbrella series, which dealt with the lives of ordinary people.
In recent years, he has gone back to films, making Gajagamini and Minaxi—A Tale of Three Cities, and is planning a comedy for his fourth film. The painter-turned-filmmaker remains one of India’s most prolific artists despite his advancing age. He painted a suite of 88 paintings of different cities to commemorate his 88th birthday.
As with paintings, the different regions and states of India have their unique styles of handicrafts fashioned from a variety of materials and intricate designs handed down from generation to generation. The creativity of the local folk finds expression in clay, stone, brass, copper, bronze, wood and ivory, in objects that are utilitarian, ritualistic or purely decorative.
Terracotta, hard semi-fired ceramic clay, is used to create figurines with a ritualistic symbolism, as in the case of the famous Bankura horse from the state of West Bengal. The horse derives its name from the Bankura district of the state and forms an important part of rituals. The rider is the local god, Dharmaraj, seen as another form of Surya, the Sun God who is a rider of horses. The four legs of the horse are made first, followed by the torso, neck and head, after which the different parts are glued together. The figure, once dry, is coloured and burnt in the kiln. The size of the horse can vary from 15 cm to 1.8 m. Besides terracotta, the Bankura horse is also made in wood.
Wood is another popular medium for Indian handicrafts with the tradition of woodcarving dating back to ancient times. From Punjab and Kashmir in the north, Nagaland in the east, to Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu in the south, wood is used to create objects as varied as dolls, boxes, furniture, screens, decorative panels and idols of local gods. In some parts of India such as Karnataka, wood is combined with other materials like ivory or metal thread to create exquisite designs.
Stone carving developed after woodcarving in India but is no less popular. Intricate inlay work is done using black marble and soapstone. The city of Agra, home to the marble edifice the Taj Mahal, is famous for its marble crafts, while in neighbouring Jaipur, carvers are known for their stone-and-marble deities, among other objects of art and worship. Even windows and door frames are made of carved stones in Agra.
The city of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh is famous for brass. Brass is created by fusing zinc and copper and is used to make everything from flower vases, pots and figurines to utility items such as nut crackers and storage boxes. In the southern city of Hyderabad, brass is inlaid in an alloy of silver and copper to create the decorative bidri work. Copper, silver and brass are fashioned into samovars, glasses and water jugs for practical and decorative use even in the remote northern region of Ladakh. Bronze is another favourite metal, dating back to ancient times, and is widely used across Indian states for creating figures of deities, usually Shiva, Ganesha and Rama.
Rangoli: Painting On Floors
The powder of rice flour and lime or stone, coloured with dye, is used to decorate floors during festive occasions such as Diwali, the Festival of Lights, in India. The designs, either geometrical or based on floral, animal and spiritual motifs, are traditionally applied by hand at the entrance of the home to welcome guests, or to seek blessings from the gods. The designs are usually symmetrical in nature. They are drawn on the floor with chalk, then powder is taken between the thumb and index finger and sprinkled on the design, filling it in carefully. Powders of different colours are kept separate to create a distinct design. Flower petals, candles or earthenware lamps are often added to create a more pleasing look.