Exhibition illustrates the emergence of modern art in India
100 WORKS BY ARTISTS
AN exhibition focusing of the emergence of modern art in India is on display.
Painting Freedom: Indian Modernism and its Three Rebels, at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, in New Walk, features more than 100 works, including important pieces loaned by the British Museum.
The exhibition is one of the largest of its kind to be held outside of India and is free to visit.
Many works from private collections will be on public display for the first time, helping to guide visitors on a journey through Indian modernism from 1870 to 1950.
Exhibition co-curator Dr Caterina Corni said: “The British established art colleges in
India in the mid-19th century, introducing a curriculum dominated by western academic art, but by the turn of the 20th century,
Indian artists were beginning to rebel.
“How could they unshackle themselves from western concepts of art, while also differentiating themselves from the artists of India’s past?
“The emergence of Indian modern art was a quest for cultural independence that occurred in parallel to the fight for political independence from colonial rule.” Three of the most successful modern Indian artists to emerge from the Bengal School of Art in the 1920s rejected calls to rediscover centuries-old Indian art and instead took inspiration from western academic art, Indian folk traditions and contemporary
Expressionism. The works of these three rebels – Hemen Majumdar, Jamini Roy and Rabindranath Tagore – are extensively featured in the exhibition, together with works by dozens of other artists from the same period. The exhibition runs until November 21.
Deputy mayor Councillor Piara Singh Clair said: “Painting Freedom will be one of the largest exhibitions on this defining period of modern Indian art to be shown in the UK.
“As the city gets ready to mark the festival of Diwali, I am delighted we are able to host this major celebration of Indian art.”
Admission is free, but visitors are asked to book timed tickets, online or by calling the museum on 0116 225 4900.
The emergence of Indian modern art was a quest for cultural independence that occurred in parallel to the fight for political independence