MODERNISMO E MODELLI FIGURATIVI DELLE TRADIZIONI ANTICHE NELLE ESPERIENZE DELLA PITTURA INDIANA DI PRIMO NOVECENTO

Abstract

Between the 19 th and the 20 th century, Indian painting took in some of the trends of the Avant-garde of European Modernism which contributed to the birth of new artistic tendencies in the history of Indian painting. This paper describes the general panorama of that period, especially during the so-called 'nationalistic interlude', when many Indian artists, in delicate equilibrium between global modernity and national identity reclaimed their artistic identity. In the complex cultural and artistic panorama, another less known phenomenon is brought to the attention: it had to do with the diffusion of ancient traditions and pictorial techniques, generally confined to a coterie of the elite, which were divulged by modern painters. Amongst these, two are analysed: the first one, better known, is the Thanjavur Painting, born in the mid-18 th century. The second one, far less known and still awaiting its just recognition, is the so-called Brahmari Painting, which, having risen in western Bengal at some indeterminate period, had again flowered between the 19 th and the 20 th century, in the cultural ferment that accompanied the Independence movement.