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CS92PROD
Empire and Erotica: Indian Painting, 1100-1900

ARHA 286
Fall 2014 not offered
Certificates: South Asia Studies

The history of later Indian painting is dominated by two distinct stylistic traditions, one flourishing at the court of the Mughal empire, the other at the courts of the various Rajput dynasties that held sway in regions along the periphery of the Mughal domain. Despite complex historical relationships between the two traditions, modern scholarship has tended to emphasize their separate identities as distinct, isolable schools with mutually opposing stylistic and aesthetic ideals. Mughal painting is often characterized as naturalistic, rational, and political; while contemporary Rajput work is seen as lyrical, erotic, and spiritual in its approach. In this course, we will trace the history of the emergence and interaction of these two traditions of painting, beginning with the pre-Mughal and pre-Rajput traditions current before the 16th century and continuing to the transformation of the Mughal and Rajput traditions through British colonial patronage. The course strikes a balance between the modes of historical survey and thematic enquiry; some of the themes to be examined include the relationship between painting and literature, the structure of patronage and the degree of the patron's influence in shaping style, and the extent to which the Mughal and Rajput styles appropriated formal conventions from 16th-century European prints and paintings.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ART
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (ARHA-MN)(ARHA)(ARST)(GSAS-MN)(GSAS)(MUST-MN)(SAST-MN)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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