Transcript Religious Change and Colonial Rule: The Later Art of South and

Shadia Taylor, Catherine Macon, & Kiralina Soare
RELIGIOUS CHANGE AND COLONIAL RULE: THE
LATER ART OF SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
VOCAB
Gouache – painting technique where pigments
are ground in water (very similar to watercolor)
 Gopuras – gateway towers
 Mandapas – pillared halls
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INDIA
In India, Buddhism was nearing extinction in
the 13th century.
 Islam was growing, both as a religion and as a
political force.
 Hinduism was politically in
retreat, though still powerful.
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PAINTING
Much of early Indian art didn’t survive because
of impermanent materials
 Only Indian paintings from the 15th and 16th
centuries or later have survived in any number
 Indian paintings were usually kept in books or
made as miniatures, they weren’t meant to be
framed
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JAHANGIR PREFERRING A SUFI SHAIKH TO
KINGS
-The Work functions as a tribute to
Jahangir and shaikh Husain as well as
the artist (Bichitr)
-Creates a unity between himself and
the holy man as followers of Allah
-A lot of symbolism regarding hierarchy
and power (hourglass), he is seen as
above the secular and sacred leaders
-Mughal patrons demanded a very
realistic style for portraits so that
viewers could identify them
School of Athens
Raphael
BHADRAKALI WITHIN THE RISING SUN
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The bold areas of color, stylized
figures, and flat picture plane
contrast with the realism of Mughal
work
Lots of symbolism, and a similar
positioning of the most important
figure in the center
Mughal court functioned around the
emperor and the Hindu court
functioned around the deities
KRISHNA AND RADHA IN A PAVILION
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Shares with the Mughal
paintings naturalistically
proportioned individuals who
participate in realistic settings
The blue of Krishna is
counterbalanced by the ivory
color of Radha
Artist took great care depicting
details accurately, like the
mango tree, the palm leaves,
and the designs on the bed
MAHARAJA JASWANT SINGH OF MARWAR
Shows the effects if British
rule
 Chose to sit in an ordinary
chair instead of throne,
basically posing as an
ordinary British man would
 Shows the growth of
realism in Indian paintings
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KING PHILIP IV OF SPAIN
Diego Velazquez
ARCHITECTURE
GREAT TEMPLE, MADURAI, INDIA
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Expanded these complexes outward from the center
by erecting ever larger enclosure walls, punctuated by
directional gopuras
Positioned like boxes within boxes, each set of walls
had taller gopuras than those of the previous wall.
The towers tended to dwarf the actual temples.
Typical of late temples were large and numerous
mandapas as well as great water tanks the worshipers
used for ritual bathing
THAILAND
Southeast Asians practiced both Buddhism and
Hinduism, but Hinduism was dying out by the
13th century
 Two prominent Buddhist
kingdoms came to power in
Thailand during the 13th and
14th centuries, the Sukhothai
and Ayuthaya
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WAT MAHAT, SUKHOTHAI, THAILAND
The central monument, a stupa, housed a relic of
the Buddha. Although not a circular mound like
earlier Indian stupas, it still had a similar function.
 A central lotus-bud tower and 8 surrounding
towers stand on the stupa’s lower podium.
 In front were halls with walls and roof of brick,
stucco, wood, and ceramic tiles.
 Two monumental standing Buddha images flank
the stupa.
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WALKING BUDDHA, SUKHOTHAI
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Sukhothai Buddhas have a flame
leaping from their heads, and a sharp
nose projecting from their rounded
faces.
A clinging robe reveals rounded limbs.
The Buddha strides forward, raising his
heel, and leaving the right arm hanging,
almost without any muscles or joints.
The Sukhothai artist intended to
express the Buddha’s beauty and
perfection.
Walking Buddha versus Virgin of Paris
EMERALD BUDDHA, EMERALD TEMPLE
Actually carved from green
jade instead of emerald.
 The green jade gives it a
magical quality, bringer of
rains.
 The Thai king dresses the
statue in an annual
ceremony in robes
representing the religious
and secular duties attributed
to the Buddha.
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BURMA
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Like Thailand, Burma is an overwhelmingly
Buddhist country, in particular Theravada
Buddhism.
SHWEDAGON PAGODA, BURMA
It houses two of the Buddha’s hairs.
 Renown for the gold, silver, and jewels
encrusting its surface.
 At the very top is a seven-tiered umbrella
crowned with a gold ball inlaid with diamonds.
 The stupa is at the center of an enormous
complex of buildings, including wooden shrines
filled with Buddha images.
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VIETNAM
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Vietnamese ceramic tradition goes back to the
Han period of China, but it is less formal than
Chinese wares.
CERAMIC DISH, VIETNAM
Shows two mynah birds on a
flowering branch.
 The artist suggested the
foliage by squiggles and
looped lines, seldom raising
the brush off the surface.
 This technique allowed rapid
production.
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CONTEMPORARY ART IN INDIA AND SOUTHEAST
ASIA
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Contemporary art falls into two general
categories:
 Art
made following the local traditions
 Typically
done at the village level
 Inexpensive materials
 Art
created for the international market
 Typically
trained outside of home countries
BUDDHA FOOTPRINT, KAMOL TASSANANCHALEE
Part of his Nang-Yai Series. Nang-yai is the Thai
term for shadow puppets cut from large pieces
of leather and held above the heads of
performers by two sticks to a wood frame.
 He transformed this Thai folk art by using
different materials (paper, acrylic, ink and
wooden frame) to create
a
footprint of the Buddha.
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