Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.30

v2.c11.30

Since the 19^th century, due to the introduction of western learning to the east, Indian painting also received influence from western painting theory and works, and had many slow and significant changes in aspects such as types, skills and style. The basic skills and scientific processing in the effects of light, body proportion and perspective of western paintings attracted the attention of Indian painters. From the middle of the 19^th century to India's independence in 1947, Indo-European academism had been in the dominant position in the Indian art circle. At the same time, under the cultural background of the Renaissance in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Painting School with its leader, Rabindranath Tagore, emerged in the early 20th century. It called for resisting the art education of colonialism, and advocated the inheritance of Indian artistic traditions represented by Ajanta frescoes and Mughal miniature. Nandalal Bose was the representative painter of Bangladesh Painting School. And the poet Rabindranath Tagore was another important painter in modern India. He started painting after the age of 60, with more than 1,500 works. He has repeatedly held personal exhibitions in western countries, winning high praise. Because his paintings and art theory played the pioneering role and exerted great influence upon Indian modern art, he was honoured as one of the pioneers of Indian modern art.