Origin of the Bengal School

The essentials

In the 19th century, British-run art schools in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Lahore trained Indians mainly in European academic drawing and oil painting. Raja Ravi Varma became famous for oil paintings of Indian mythological subjects in a European realistic manner, and his prints spread through a press that produced oleographs.

Around 1900, E. B. Havell, the principal of the Government School of Art in Calcutta, began to promote Indian art traditions in place of copying European models. He found a partner in Abanindranath Tagore, nephew of Rabindranath Tagore. Abanindranath turned to Mughal miniature, Rajput painting and Ajanta murals for inspiration. Early works such as "The Passing of Shah Jahan" show the influence of Mughal painting. In 1905 he painted "Bharat Mata", and in 1907 the Indian Society of Oriental Art was founded in Calcutta to promote this movement.

The Japanese thinker Okakura Kakuzo visited Calcutta and argued that Asia shared a common spiritual culture. Japanese artists such as Yokoyama Taikan and Hishida Shunso came to Calcutta, and their methods helped shape the Bengal wash technique.

Key points

• Havell: British principal who supported Indian traditions.
• Abanindranath: founder figure of the Bengal School.
• Inspirations: Mughal, Rajput, Ajanta, and Japanese art.
• Indian Society of Oriental Art (1907) promoted the new style.

Exam tips

• Remember that the Bengal School was partly a reaction to Ravi Varma's European-style realism.

Common mistakes

• Calling Ravi Varma a Bengal School artist; he worked in European academic oils and predates the movement.