The culture of Kolkata concerns the music, art, museums, festivals, and lifestyle within Kolkata. The paintings can be found in Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata and the Naprstek Museum in Prague. Gaganendranath Tagore was an Indian painter and cartoonist of the Bengal school. Painted mostly on inexpensive mill-made paper or cloth with swift brushstrokes and homemade dyes, traditional Kalighat paintings originated in the 19th century. Kalighat painting or Kalighat Pat originated in the 19th century Bengal, in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat, Kolkata, India, and from being items of souvenir taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of Indian painting. Also known as 'Indian style of painting' in its early days, it was associated with Indian nationalism (swadeshi) and led by Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951), but was also promoted and supported by British arts administrators like E. B. Havell, the principal of the Government College of Art, Kolkata from 1896; eventually it led to the development of the modern Indian painting. This is an unofficial website intended to advertise Occidental and aggregate modern resources from the whole Occidental … Oriental style portrays the Indian deities, Hindu Gods and Goddesses, mythological characters and scenes from different epics while Occidental style depicts the everyday life, social evils, crimes, and freedom struggle etc. He was born in Dhaka, Bengal Presidency. I chose Kalighat paintings to depict my journey. Kalighat painting or Kalighat Pat originated in the 19th century Bengal, in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat, Kolkata, India, and from being items of souvenir taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of Indian painting. Although woodblock printing on fabrics has been in India for centuries, the paper adaptation of woodblock printing appeared relatively late, because of the late entry and early exit due to advent of lithography the Battala woodcut printing had a remarkably short run. Initially, these artists were concentrated around the temple at Kalighat where there was a demand for religious art. The artists played an important role in the Independence movement through the depiction of secular themes and personalities in their paintings. He was honoured with the State award of Padma Bhushan in 1955. The painting originated as a souvenir item associated with the Kali temple of Kalighat.Initially the paintings portrayed Goddess Kali and her tales of defeating the demons. An important achievement of the Kalighat artistes was that they made simple paintings and drawings, which could easily be reproduced by lithography. Hindu Patuas are active in the Kalighat and Kumartuli regions of Calcutta, along with some other parts of West Bengal, where they are reduced in number. Subramanyan embodied both. Even contemporary events like crime were the subject of many paintings. K.G. The music of West Bengal includes multiple indigenous musical genres such as Baul, Ramprasadi, Bishnupuri Classical, Kirtan, Shyama Sangeet, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, Dwijendrageeti, Prabhati Sangeet, Agamani-Vijaya, Patua Sangeet, Gambhira, Bhatiali, Bhawaiya, Bengali Rock. Some Patuas are Hindus, while others are Muslims. During its manifestation, in the earlier days, it was a community effort. The main distinguishing facet of the Kalighat paintings is the motifs used in them. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of prehistoric times, such as the petroglyphs found in places like Bhimbetka rock shelters. Today, however, the majority of them are impoverished Muslims who rely on patronage from mainly Hindus, but also increasingly from tourists who buy their painted scrolls, as Frank J. Korom has described and analysed in his book Village of Painters: Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal. Kalighat is a Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Kali. Initially sold as items of souvenir taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of Indian painting. Bengal has a recorded history of 1,400 years. Kalighat painting originated in the 19th century Kolkata, in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple of Kalighat. Pattachitras are a component of an ancient Bengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song. Jamini Roy was an Indian painter. Their paintings depicting different professions and costumes were also popular with the tourists. The region has been a historical melting point, blending indigenous traditions with cosmopolitan influences from pan-Indian subcontinental empires. Today, they practice customs that are both Hindu and Islamic in nature. The delightful blend of the oriental and occidental styles is another feature that this form gain recognition all over the world. They depicted conventional images of gods and goddesses and scenes from epics like Tulsidas’ Rama charita manas. Battala woodcut prints are the woodcut relief prints produced in the Battala region of Calcutta. The other mo… Kalighat Painting originated in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat (Kolkata, India) in 19 th century. Indian painting has a very long tradition and history in Indian art, though because of the climatic conditions very few early examples survive. These paintings were a part of the Occidental school of Kalighat paintings while the painting with religious and mythological themes was under the Oriental school of Kalighat painting. The Calcutta School of Art was one such school and attracted traditional artists–the patuas—to the city. Kalighat painting or Kalighat Pat originated in the 19th century West Bengal, India, in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat, Calcutta, India, and from being items of souvenir taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a … Bengalis tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature. Kalighat Paintings: The Story of their Origin When the British invaded India they were fascinated by the literary and artistic culture of the country. Popularly known as 'Aban Thakur', his books Rajkahini, Budo Angla, Nalak, and Khirer Putul were landmarks in Bengali language children's literature and art. Due to the reign of many different rulers in the past, arts and crafts in West Bengal underwent many changes giving an artistic diversity today in the forms of traditional handicrafts, masks, painting and carving, dance, music etc. The other more contemporary style of Kalighat paintings are the Occidental variety that feature secular and civil themes like crime, women bathing, the evolving role of men and women in the society since the emphasis on women’s education, the hypocritical lives of the quasi-bourgeois, depictions of the freedom struggle, heroes of the struggle including Rani Lakshmi Bai, a girl playing the sitar and other themes … These paintings were done on cloth or patas. Along with his brother Abanindranath Tagore, he was counted as one of the earliest modern artists in India. As the name suggests, Kalighat paintings were created around the Kali temple in Kolkata, on the banks or ghat of the Ganga. The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, where the Bengali language is the official and primary language. In these mocking pieces, the austerity of Kalighat paintings is wedded to the simplicity of Japanese prints. The artistes were villagers who travelled from place to place with their scroll paintings and sang the scenes from the epics depicted in the paintings during village gatherings and festivals. Manishi Dey was the younger brother of Mukul Dey, a pioneering Indian artist and dry point etcher. The Occidental school of Kalighat paintings depicts the day to day life of common people. Kalighat School was a unique and delightful Blend of the Oriental and the Occidental styles of painting. The Occidental school produced paintings that depicted social and political situations brewing in the 19th century- scenes of crimes, women or men feeding their pet cats, birds, and animals, men traveling by elephants, … The Oriental Kalighatpaintings depict gods, goddesses, mythological characters as well as scenes from religious Hindu texts. Later academic training institutions were set up in Bengal imparting European style of art for the Indian artists by British patrons. 2. In this exercise I also learnt emulation is the best way of learning, hence to get a hands on experience I emulated an occidental Kalighat painting. Kalighat paintings were made by the patua community, the paintings depict gods and daily lifestyle of people. The Bengali Renaissance or simply Bengal Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual and artistic movement in Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent during the period of the British Indian Empire, from the 19th century to the early 20th century dominated by Bengali Hindu community. He was also the first major exponent of Swadeshi values in Indian art, thereby founding the influential Bengal school of art, which led to the development of modern Indian painting. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated — with a history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions into the area over time. It is said to be developed in the vicinity of the iconic Kalighat Kali Temple on the bank of the Burin Ganga in the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). Kalighat paintings flourished during the British raj in India and are a harmonic balance of the artistic ideas between oriental themes and occidental techniques. Kalighat painting emerged in the 19th century of Calcutta, West Bengal, India in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali temple. Pattachitra or Patachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal. Theatre in Bangladesh is believed to have its origin in the 4th century AD in the form of Sanskrit drama. Kalighat Painting. 2. They painted heroic characters like Tipu Sultan and Rani Lakshmibai. Originally named Bijoy Chandra, Manishi was the fifth child, and third son, of Purnashashi Devi and Kula Chandra Dey. Popularly known as "Davidbabu", in his short life, he made a major contribution to the study of Hindu terracotta and brick temples of Bengal and was also one of the first scholars to write a study of the emerging field of Indian writing in English. From the depiction of Hindu gods, god, and other mythological characters, the Kalighat paintings developed to reflect a variety of themes. They started creating new forms of art and the Kalighat painting was born. They painted historic characters like Rani Lakshmibai, and Duldul the famous horse of Imam Hussain of Karbala. This trend continued up to the early part of the twentieth century and these paintings ended up in museums and private collections. From the depiction of Hindu gods, god, and other mythological characters, the Kalighat paintings developed to reflect a variety of subjects, including many depictions of everyday life. Occidental- The Occidental Kalighat Paintings These paintings depict the day-to-day chores and lives of people, the stories of the warriors and fighters during the Independence like that of Rani Lakshmi Bai. He was a student of Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan and is considered as a pioneer of drypoint-etching in India. Kalighat painting usually portrayed a variety of themes, based on these themes these paintings are classified into two styles namely Oriental and Occidental. Their paintings depicting different professions and costumes were also popular with tourists. Kalighat painting. Some of the Stone Age rock paintings found among the Bhimbetka rock shelters are approximately 10,000 years old. The Patua are an artisan community found in the state of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in India and parts of Bangladesh. The family members or the community members, would sit together and ground the ingredients to make the dyes, colors and some would draw the outlines of the main figures in the painting and while others would … Shop unique custom made Canvas Prints, Framed Prints, Posters, Tapestries, and more. Another theme depicted, dear to the Bengali ethos, was that of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his disciples. Among the deities that the Kalighat artists painted, the goddess Kali was a favorite. Religious themes (Oriental art) were the primary subject matter but the contemporary society (Occidental art) – especially the babu culture also provided a great deal of visual material to the artists. It is one of the famous Hindu temples where … This trend continued up to the early part of the twentieth century and these paintings ended up in museums and private collections. Following his appointment to the painting department in 1951, he proceeded to define the school's character by imbuing it with the vision of his former teacher Binode Bihari Mukherjee, a pioneer of modern art in India.. But the Kalighat artists did not restrict themselves to religious themes. With the … The charm of the Kalighat paintings lies in the fact that they captured the essence of daily life and they influence modern artists like the late Jamini Roy even to this day. Even contemporary events like crime were the subject of many paintings. 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