Course10910419660 lectures
Indian Art: Materials, Techniques and Artistic Practices
Prof. Rajarshi Sengupta · IIT Kanpur
About
This course introduces the diversity of art practices and material culture from the Indian subcontinent and situates them against their socio-cultural, political and temporal settings. The content is arranged according to materials and techniques to support an immersive approach to understanding Indian art. Focus on materials and practices will enable students to draw connections between the historical artifacts and contemporary objects from the immediate surroundings. This course is beneficial for art practitioners, aspiring art historians, educators, and those preparing for competitive examinations in India.
After Partha Mitter’s concise compilation (2001) of the essential facets of the art in the Indian subcontinent from the Indus valley period until contemporary times, a comprehensive book on this area is eagerly anticipated. In the last two decades, dedicated studies on Chola sculptures (Dehejia 2006, 2021), Mughal architecture (Koch 2001, 2006; Michell 2011), Pahari miniature paintings (Goswamy 2009, 2021) and art after the independence of India (Kapur 2000; Mathur 2019; Khullar 2017) have presented fresh perspectives on these topics calling attention to examining the critical themes in Indian art, such as tradition, rupture, continuity and innovation. Drawing on these studies, the proposed course brings together the recent findings in Indian art and directs to the possible ways the students can explore these thematics.
Intended audience: Students enrolled in BFA, BA, B. Tech. Candidates preparing for competitive examinations in India. Students enthusiastic about art, culture and design histories.
Lectures
Week 1: Clay: Terracotta and Terracruda
- Lecture 01- Introduction to the Indus valley sites and different usage of clay
- Lecture 02- Making of terracotta figurines in the Indus valley
- Lecture 03- Urn and seals from the Indus valley sites
- Lecture 04- Architectural sites and sculptures from the Indus valley sites
- Lecture 05- Use of metal in the Indus valley and relevance of terracruda.
Week 2: Architecture I: Basics of Buddhist and Jain architecture
- Lecture 06: Introduction to Buddhism and rock-cut structures
- Lecture 07: Architecture and Buddha’s body
- Lecture 08: Emperor Ashoka, Mauryan structures and Buddhism.
- Lecture 09: Centres of Buddhist sculpture and architecture
- Lecture 10: Jainism and Architecture
Week 3: Pigment: Mineral and vegetal colours
- Lecture 11: Introduction to Earth pigments and early sites
- Lecture 12: Paintings at Ajanta
- Lecture 13: Buddhist jataka and Jaina themes in murals
- Lecture 14: Ellora rock cut structures and murals
- Lecture 15: Kailasanatha Temple and painted sculptures
Week 4: Architecture II: Hinduism and temple building
- Lecture 16: Introduction to Hinduism and basics of Hindu temple architecture.
- Lecture 17: Brick and Rock cut temples
- Lecture 18: Mamallapuram and Pallava architecture
- Lecture 19: Badami Chalukyas and Cholas: temples and metal objects
- Lecture 20: Context-specific temples and later developments
Week 5: Stone: Memorials, Architectural Remnants and Objects
- Lecture 21: Stone objects from the Prehistoric and early historic era
- Lecture 22: Sandstone
- Lecture 23: Stones of the Deccan
- Lecture 24: Architecture and Carving during the Vijayanagara period and beyond
- Lecture 25: Marble
Week 6: Garden
- Lecture 26: Gardens and Islam
- Lecture 27: Mughal Gardens ad palaces of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri
- Lecture 28: Garden tombs of the Mughal era
- Lecture 29: Mughal Palaces and Gardens of the Deccan
- Lecture 30: Garden in Bijapur and Golcocnda
Week 7: Paper
- Lecture 31: Early manuscript painting in the Indian subcontinent
- Lecture 32: The Mughal atelier
- Lecture 33: Deccani and Rajasthani miniatures
- Lecture 34 : Rajasthani and Pahari miniature paintings
- Lecture 35: Painting in Mysore and Thanjavur
Week 8: Printing: European Interventions
- Lecture 36: Introduction to Printmaking in the Indian Subcontinent
- Lecture 37: Features of the 18th and 19th century Printed images
- Lecture 38: Printmaking and Colonial Documentation
- Lecture 39: Popular and Vernacular Prints I
- Lecture 40: Popular and Vernacular Prints II
Week 9: “New” Colonial Media
- Lecture 41: European Watercolour and Company Painting
- Lecture 42: Indo-European themes and Kalighat Paintings
- Lecture 43: Oil painting in the Princely courts and beyond
- Lecture 44: Raja Ravi Varma
- Lecture 45: Other “New” Media: Print and Photographs
Week 10: Daily Practice and Nationalism
- Lecture 46: Gandhi, daily practice and material culture
- Lecture 47: Different approaches of Gandhi and Abanindranth Tagore
- Lecture 48: Alternative art education in Santiniketan,
- Lecture 49: Nandalal Bose, Gandhi and Haripura posters
- Lecture 50: Art for society: Nandalal Bose and his disciples
Week 11: Multimedia Approaches I
- Lecture 51: The key developments in Indian Art after 1947
- Lecture 52: Post independence Painting and Sculpture
- Lecture 53: Post independence artistic Printmaking
- Lecture 54: Post independence Architecture
- Lecture 55: Post independence design practices in India
Week 12: Multimedia Approaches II
Syllabus and materials
At NPTEL, as the course publishes them.
Credits and licence
- Institution
- IIT Kanpur
- Department
- Humanities and Social Sciences
- Teacher
- Prof. Rajarshi Sengupta
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Language
- English
- Subjects
- Society and politics
- Source
- NPTEL
- Licence
- CC BY-NC-SA, as NPTEL states it. Non-commercial use only. NPTEL's terms
- Attribution
- NPTEL states: "Distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike / CC BY - NC - SA", beside a BY-NC-SA badge.
- Who can watch
- NPTEL gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed