Ah, the second consecutive marathon lecture. I thank you all sincerely for sitting patiently for almost 4 hours once again to learn about the topics as drab as architecture and painting. Because of 8 hours that we spent since yesterday, we could cover a large ground and are slowly inching towards the end of the Culture module. I do really understand that it takes a lot of patience and understanding behind the support which you all have lent.
Architecture -
Yesterday was over with the 'regionalisation' of Indian temple architecture. We started with a few stories today and then went on to survey the development of Indo-Islamic architecture. We started with the structural and stylistic changes that were introduced into the Indian 'pasmanzar' by the invading Turks and how that brought out unconscious synthesis of indigenous and foreign elements. We traced the evolution from Khaljis and Slaves to Tughlaqs to finally Lodis. Many 'firsts' were also discussed. True Arch, Salami, Pentagonal dome, Octagonal dome etc were also discussed. Finally, we stopped here with the Lodi initiatives which proved to be lasting.
Then we traveled away from the centre to periphery and saw the development of architecture in provincial towns across India. I could sense the impromptu collective gasp in the class when we saw the beauty of Junagarh structures. Mandu and Jaunpur show a great influence of Tughlaqsqe structural norms like Salami/Bater. We then traveled to the Deccan and covered Bahmani sultanate's Gulbarga phase as well as Bidar phase. Firoza on the walls of Mahmud Gawan's Madrasa indicated the influence that Afaqi's had in the Deccani court vis-a-vis Dakhanis.
Later we discussed the architectural styles of the Great Moguls in detail. It was brought to the notice that Sher Khan introduced many of the forms which were carried forward by the Moguls. Surveying the various decorative elements introduced by the Padshahs for embellishment purpose, we traced their origin either to Persia or to Sultanate or to Indian local tradition. Pietra Dura, Jali work, Rajasthani kiosks etc were studied in some detail. We then saw the buildings of each single Padshah one by one starting from Babur to Aurangzeb and their structural importance. The special talk about concepts behind Mughal gardens and their constituents went for quite a while. The story about Lord Curzon and Taj Mahal was quite an interesting one. It was also seen that the Great Moguls constructed not only religious structures but also a variety of Public Utility Buildings. After having a look at all of them in short, Mughal bridges were also discussed.
As the last leg of architecture, we went through Indo-Saracenic structures in 10 minutes. We discussed the worldview of the Gorasahibs which shaped their ideas which in turn shaped their cities and buildings. A few photos were then talked about as well as the urban architecture was discussed.
Painting -
After a small break, we turned out attention to Painting. Indian painting is a huge subject in itself and it is humanly impossible to cover everything here, neither it is required. The effort was to introduce a framework in which one would be able to think of any painting/painter with some contextual basis, to develope a sense of aesthetic appreciation and also to introduce most symbolic paintings in India to you summarily - most of which are UNESCO Heritage Sites. As I had said earlier, developments in politics, religion, architecture (and thus painting and sculpture) go hand in hand and are intertwined. By now we had a sufficient idea about the religious development as well as architectural development, it was easy to cover the whole span in short time.
The first part was about the Murals and the second part was about the Miniatures. We started with the primordial man and looked at the thematic representation of their paintings at two places - Lakhudiyar and Bhimbetka. Paintings as they say mirror human emotions and ideas. In form as well as in substance, we tried to interpret some paintings as an illustration to understand the mind of that primeval man in India 10,000 years ago. After talking about Harappa shortly, we shifted to Gupta era and discussed Ajanta and Bagh Caves paintings in some detail. As was evident, Bagh paintings show the cosmopolitanism of that era and are continuation of Ajanta style. Later on, we saw some specimens of Sittanvasal caves of Pandya/Pallava era, Brihadeshwara temple of Chola era and some Vijayanagara paintings as well. We also briefly went through some technicalities like fresco, fresco-secco, tempera etc.
Coming to the Middle ages in India, we traced the development from murals to palm leaves and finally to paper. Turkish invasion introduced many new forms in India and it was a kind of revitalisation. Unfortunately, as we saw, the earliest extant example is only from around 1500 from Mandu. We discussd Mughal paintings quite in detail. Persian, Hindu and European influences, various painters and their specialties, styles of individual emperors, and whole huge project of painting commissioning in Kitabkhana and Tasweerkhana was discussed at length. The shift from portrait and courtly paintings to more naturalistic forms was noticeable as we progressed through the time. Many individual folios from illustrated books were seen on the screen. At the end, a 10 minute discussion on Mogul Calligraphy was pertinent.
And then comes the era of Rajput painting (with its various sub-schools) and Company school which we had already been discussed at the start of the session today. Importantly, Bani Thani of Kishangarh with her lotus eyes was appreciated in the class quite elaborately. The purpose and functionality of Company school paintings were also discussed. However, as I said, there are various other painting schools in India (in both murals as well as miniature/portrait) which are equally important about which a handout was given today mentioning the names. I request all of you to google them as and when time permits you.
The final stage of this evolution of Indian painting is India's own response to British-led forced and selective modernisation. A handout was distributed for a brief on Indian response in the painting realm starting from Nandlal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore to Amruta Shergil and VS Gaitonde and MF Hussain. However, students are requested to do some research on their own at their leisure about this part of the development.
Exam -
As decided earlier, there will be a test on 'religion' part of the syllabus sometime this week or early next. Please be prepared. I also request you to finish reading Ancient NCERT soon. Sooner you read it, better it is.
Architecture -
Yesterday was over with the 'regionalisation' of Indian temple architecture. We started with a few stories today and then went on to survey the development of Indo-Islamic architecture. We started with the structural and stylistic changes that were introduced into the Indian 'pasmanzar' by the invading Turks and how that brought out unconscious synthesis of indigenous and foreign elements. We traced the evolution from Khaljis and Slaves to Tughlaqs to finally Lodis. Many 'firsts' were also discussed. True Arch, Salami, Pentagonal dome, Octagonal dome etc were also discussed. Finally, we stopped here with the Lodi initiatives which proved to be lasting.
Then we traveled away from the centre to periphery and saw the development of architecture in provincial towns across India. I could sense the impromptu collective gasp in the class when we saw the beauty of Junagarh structures. Mandu and Jaunpur show a great influence of Tughlaqsqe structural norms like Salami/Bater. We then traveled to the Deccan and covered Bahmani sultanate's Gulbarga phase as well as Bidar phase. Firoza on the walls of Mahmud Gawan's Madrasa indicated the influence that Afaqi's had in the Deccani court vis-a-vis Dakhanis.
Later we discussed the architectural styles of the Great Moguls in detail. It was brought to the notice that Sher Khan introduced many of the forms which were carried forward by the Moguls. Surveying the various decorative elements introduced by the Padshahs for embellishment purpose, we traced their origin either to Persia or to Sultanate or to Indian local tradition. Pietra Dura, Jali work, Rajasthani kiosks etc were studied in some detail. We then saw the buildings of each single Padshah one by one starting from Babur to Aurangzeb and their structural importance. The special talk about concepts behind Mughal gardens and their constituents went for quite a while. The story about Lord Curzon and Taj Mahal was quite an interesting one. It was also seen that the Great Moguls constructed not only religious structures but also a variety of Public Utility Buildings. After having a look at all of them in short, Mughal bridges were also discussed.
As the last leg of architecture, we went through Indo-Saracenic structures in 10 minutes. We discussed the worldview of the Gorasahibs which shaped their ideas which in turn shaped their cities and buildings. A few photos were then talked about as well as the urban architecture was discussed.
Painting -
After a small break, we turned out attention to Painting. Indian painting is a huge subject in itself and it is humanly impossible to cover everything here, neither it is required. The effort was to introduce a framework in which one would be able to think of any painting/painter with some contextual basis, to develope a sense of aesthetic appreciation and also to introduce most symbolic paintings in India to you summarily - most of which are UNESCO Heritage Sites. As I had said earlier, developments in politics, religion, architecture (and thus painting and sculpture) go hand in hand and are intertwined. By now we had a sufficient idea about the religious development as well as architectural development, it was easy to cover the whole span in short time.
The first part was about the Murals and the second part was about the Miniatures. We started with the primordial man and looked at the thematic representation of their paintings at two places - Lakhudiyar and Bhimbetka. Paintings as they say mirror human emotions and ideas. In form as well as in substance, we tried to interpret some paintings as an illustration to understand the mind of that primeval man in India 10,000 years ago. After talking about Harappa shortly, we shifted to Gupta era and discussed Ajanta and Bagh Caves paintings in some detail. As was evident, Bagh paintings show the cosmopolitanism of that era and are continuation of Ajanta style. Later on, we saw some specimens of Sittanvasal caves of Pandya/Pallava era, Brihadeshwara temple of Chola era and some Vijayanagara paintings as well. We also briefly went through some technicalities like fresco, fresco-secco, tempera etc.
Coming to the Middle ages in India, we traced the development from murals to palm leaves and finally to paper. Turkish invasion introduced many new forms in India and it was a kind of revitalisation. Unfortunately, as we saw, the earliest extant example is only from around 1500 from Mandu. We discussd Mughal paintings quite in detail. Persian, Hindu and European influences, various painters and their specialties, styles of individual emperors, and whole huge project of painting commissioning in Kitabkhana and Tasweerkhana was discussed at length. The shift from portrait and courtly paintings to more naturalistic forms was noticeable as we progressed through the time. Many individual folios from illustrated books were seen on the screen. At the end, a 10 minute discussion on Mogul Calligraphy was pertinent.
And then comes the era of Rajput painting (with its various sub-schools) and Company school which we had already been discussed at the start of the session today. Importantly, Bani Thani of Kishangarh with her lotus eyes was appreciated in the class quite elaborately. The purpose and functionality of Company school paintings were also discussed. However, as I said, there are various other painting schools in India (in both murals as well as miniature/portrait) which are equally important about which a handout was given today mentioning the names. I request all of you to google them as and when time permits you.
The final stage of this evolution of Indian painting is India's own response to British-led forced and selective modernisation. A handout was distributed for a brief on Indian response in the painting realm starting from Nandlal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore to Amruta Shergil and VS Gaitonde and MF Hussain. However, students are requested to do some research on their own at their leisure about this part of the development.
Exam -
As decided earlier, there will be a test on 'religion' part of the syllabus sometime this week or early next. Please be prepared. I also request you to finish reading Ancient NCERT soon. Sooner you read it, better it is.
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