Past In Perspective Printmaking Practices From Bengal
The history of modern printmaking in the country dates back to the 16th century, with the introduction of the first printing press in India by colonial settlers in Goa.
Over the years the usage and demand of printed illustrations increased for various purposes including advertisements, books and propaganda.The publishing and printing industry expanded exponentially in Calcutta by the 18th century under British rule. The Battala prints gained popularity in the 19th century, with Calcutta gradually becoming the printing and publishing hub under the British.
Parallely, many art schools and printing presses were set up throughout the country in places like Madras, Bombay, Jaipur and Lahore for the crafts and design oriented artists. Artistic explorations as well as printmaking for mass reproduction were being practiced in the regions as well.
While in Calcutta, the creative practitioners adopted several artistic and intellectual approaches. In the year 1915, the Bichitra Club, founded by the Tagore family and their peers as a studio for artistic experimentation in painting and printmaking. A primary member of the club, Gaganendranath Tagore, published Adbhut Lok (The Realm of the Absurd) in 1917, an album of his lithographic prints.
Over the subsequent years, more artists associated with the Bichitra Club, like Rabindranath Tagore, Mukul Dey, and Nandalal Bose experimented with printmaking. Kala Bhavan, Shantinikentan, helmed by Bose was one the premier institutes where different techniques of printmaking were taught and practiced by the artists. Gradually, more and more artists at Kala Bhavan like Benode Behari Mukherjee, Ramkinker Baij and Ramendranath Chakravorty experimented and sustained their practices with intaglio and relief prints.
The medium gained popularity over the years and many practising artists from Bengal like KG Subramanyam and Gopal Ghose, working with other media experimented with printing as well.
Artists like Chittoprasad, Somnath Hore, Krishna Reddy and Sanat Kar were some of the prominent artists working with printmaking as a fine art medium in Bengal. Some of the printmakers are afforded by the developing evolution of printing techniques and mediums like pulp prints, viscosity etc.
This exhibition overviews the distinct practices of the artists and the development of printmaking as a medium for reproduction for the masses to a medium of fine art in Bengal.
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The history of modern printmaking in the country dates back to the 16th century, with the introduction of the first printing press in India by colonial settlers in Goa.
Over the years the usage and demand of printed illustrations increased for various purposes including advertisements, books and propaganda.The publishing and printing industry expanded exponentially in Calcutta by the 18th century under British rule. The Battala prints gained popularity in the 19th century, with Calcutta gradually becoming the printing and publishing hub under the British.
Parallely, many art schools and printing presses were set up throughout the country in places like Madras, Bombay, Jaipur and Lahore for the crafts and design oriented artists. Artistic explorations as well as printmaking for mass reproduction were being practiced in the regions as well.
While in Calcutta, the creative practitioners adopted several artistic and intellectual approaches. In the year 1915, the Bichitra Club, founded by the Tagore family and their peers as a studio for artistic experimentation in painting and printmaking. A primary member of the club, Gaganendranath Tagore, published Adbhut Lok (The Realm of the Absurd) in 1917, an album of his lithographic prints.
Over the subsequent years, more artists associated with the Bichitra Club, like Rabindranath Tagore, Mukul Dey, and Nandalal Bose experimented with printmaking. Kala Bhavan, Shantinikentan, helmed by Bose was one the premier institutes where different techniques of printmaking were taught and practiced by the artists. Gradually, more and more artists at Kala Bhavan like Benode Behari Mukherjee, Ramkinker Baij and Ramendranath Chakravorty experimented and sustained their practices with intaglio and relief prints.
The medium gained popularity over the years and many practising artists from Bengal like KG Subramanyam and Gopal Ghose, working with other media experimented with printing as well.
Artists like Chittoprasad, Somnath Hore, Krishna Reddy and Sanat Kar were some of the prominent artists working with printmaking as a fine art medium in Bengal. Some of the printmakers are afforded by the developing evolution of printing techniques and mediums like pulp prints, viscosity etc.
This exhibition overviews the distinct practices of the artists and the development of printmaking as a medium for reproduction for the masses to a medium of fine art in Bengal.
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