"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

Art and Nationalism in Colonial India 1850 - 1922

Partha Mitter's book is a pioneering study of the history of modern art on the Indian subcontinent from 1850 to 1922. The author tells the story of Indian art during the Raj, set against the interplay of colonialism and nationalism. The work addresses the tensions and contradictions that attended the advent of European naturalism in India, as part of the imperial design for the westernisation of the elite, and traces the artistic evolution from unquestioning westernisation to the construction of Hindu national identity. Through a wide range of literary and pictorial sources, Art and Nationalism in Colonial India balances the study of colonial cultural institutions and networks with the ideologies of the nationalist and intellectual movements which followed. The result is a book of immense significance, both in the context of South Asian history and in the wider context of art history

Arts of Mankind 1600 - 1800

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Sublime and Picturesque: The Landscape of Regret: Sarah Tiffin, Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, Singapore, National University of Singapore Press et Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 2016

Mitter Partha. Sublime and Picturesque: The Landscape of Regret: Sarah Tiffin, Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, Singapore, National University of Singapore Press et Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 2016. In: Arts asiatiques, tome 74, 2019. pp. 177-180

The Hottentot Venus and the Western Man: reflections on the contruction of beauty in the West

A few years back at the University of Sussex, we had a visitation from the copyrights authority, who were engaged in estimating the amount of photocopying done by readers using the university library. As I was waiting my turn to photocopy the attached picture (Firgure 2.1), the visiting inspector happened to glance at it. His face lit up and he gave me a knowing wink. This reactionw as not unexpected. Indeed, Sara Bartman, the so-called Hottentot Venus, was the most famous examply of African sexuality in the nineteenth century. When the nineteenth-century cartoonist wished to lampoon the Prince of Wales and his mistress in Brighton, he chose the sensationalist image of the Hottentot Venus, a cartoon which still features among the Brighton Pavilion exhibits. Displayed around Europe as an object of curiosity, after Bartman's death, her genitals were shown of in a glass case to illustrate 'the exaggerated animality of the Negress'. The tragic life of my eponymous heroine gives me a pretext to reflect on ideas of beauty within the broad conception of 'cultural encounters' evident throughout this volume. Since a lot is made of this age of multiculturalism, it may lead us to conclude that things are very different today. It might be argued, with some justification, that African women are not only not demonised, but on the contrary, women of African originare much sought after in the glamour business. Witness the meteoric rise of the supermodel, Naomi Campbell. However, as we shall see, things are not that simple

'Decadent' art of South Indian Temples

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‘The prehistory of Asian collections in Paris’: Ting Chang, Travel, Collecting, and Museums of Asian Art in Nineteenth-Century Paris, Aldershot: Ashgate 2013

The work deals with three major collectors of Asian art in Paris in the 19th century. Enrico Cernuschi and Émile Guimet (founder of Musée Guimet) acquired their substantial collection through travelling abroad while Edmond Goncourt amassed his collection at home through dealers. As the author argues, the influential postcolonial critiques of museum collections as instruments of power and authority do not take into account labour and social relations, and somatic experiences of travels to Asia. Cross-cultural encounters between Europe and Asia led to subtle inversions of power, undermining European sense of superiority. Additionally, she throws light on extensive networks and complex political, commercial, monetary relations, especially bimetallism, as well as the material conditions that affect art collection