A new book offers an easy reading of Indian art
The Big Book of Indian Art is lavish in its scope and scale. This illustrated history, by Bina Sarkar Ellias, of the various forms and movements that have led to paradigm shifts in Indian art over centuries, covers a lot of ground without getting dense or lethargic.
Published by Aleph Books, this 744-page tome features the work of over 300 artists, and is divided into eight sections such as ‘The Bengal School’, ‘The Progressive Painters’ Association in Chennai and the Cholamandal Artists’ Village’, ‘Artistic Footprints: Indian Icons’, and ‘The Art Landscape Post Independence’. Sarkar Ellias, a poet, writer, curator and founder-editor of the bi-annual global arts and ideas journal, International Gallerie, has been mindful of the fact that art can be daunting to most people, when it comes packed with theory and jargon.
Right from the outset, she has mentioned that The Big Book of Indian Art is targeted more at art enthusiasts than art scholars, academics and historians. “This book is for those who appreciate art but are intimidated by a certain vocabulary designated by and for academics; as I’ve observed, it leaves the lay person tangled in a web of concepts and innuendos more numbing in comprehension than quantum physics," she states in her author note.
With succinct chapters on key periods such as Mughal Painting (1500-1700 CE), Patna School (1750-1870), Madras School (1850), and bite-sized biographies of significant artists, this book acts as a ready reckoner to Indian art. It is the kind of book that would act as a perfect companion to exhibitions to look up artists, mediums and historical time frames in order to read an artwork better.
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