1 - History of Indian Art History Flashcards
1
Q
supremacy of greek antiquity
A
seen as
- absolute model of perfection
- a biological vision of arts (beginning or archaic stage; classicism; decline)
- Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
- Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768)
2
Q
“biological” model
A
- an Archaism/Classicism/Decline (biological) model still prevalent in museums approaches
- The idea of a glorious but lost past
3
Q
Orientalism // Exotism
A
- British colonisation of India:
1757-1858: East India Company Raj 1858-1947: British Raj - Dutch colonisation of Indonesia:
1800-1949 Dutch East Indies - 1784: foundation of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata (India) > The beginning of orientalist philology
- 1861: foundation of the Archaeological Survey of India > Text-oriented archaeology, Cunningham founder
- 1852: foundation of the Indian Museum (renamed Victoria&Albert Museum in 1879), London
> Interest on Indian decorative arts
4
Q
James Fergusson (1808-1886)
A
- A pioneer to the study of Indian architecture
- Focus on text and classic antiquity
- desinterest in medieval period
- Interest in Buddhism, quest to find original sources
5
Q
Quest for Origins
A
- the idea of an influence of Greek ‘genius’ on Indian early Buddhist art
- Alfred Foucher (1865-1952) in Ajanta, India, 1920
- still important works today, but with strong colonial bias (but every work is influenced by surroundings)
6
Q
Indo- Greek Art
A
- Early Buddhist Art; aniconism (« archaïc » period)
- Greek influence on the shaping of the Buddha image
in Gandhara (Pakistan)
= accepted formal perfection vs chaotic Hindu etc
7
Q
The « Indian-ness » of Indian Art
A
- Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877-1947): seminal work, but outdated today
8
Q
The Gupta period (4th-6th century) A « Classicism »
A
- « Greater India » = Southeast Asia seen as part of the Indian world
- focus on North India
- formalistic and analytic (textual) approach
- use of western methodologies
- use of image in ritual context
- what is indianness in indian art?
- part of nationalist movement that lead to independence
9
Q
Edward Said Orientalism
A
Edward Saïd (1935-2003)
“Orientalism” first published 1978
- code between knowledge and racism
- new paradigm of local vernaculars and social context
10
Q
Today: interdisciplinary as a new method
A
- Archaeological fieldwork
- Epigraphical records (Epigraphy) / comparison with the study of texts (Philology)
- Statuary (History of Art) and its uses (Anthropology)
- no more hierarchy between text and image
- new frameworks are being built