Art and Nationalism in Colonial India 1850-1922 Occidental Orientations Edited by PARTHA MITTER Partha Mitter's book is a pioneering study of modem art (1850-1922) on the Indian subcontinent. 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. It seeks to go beyond both conventional art history, which portrays the western influences on Indian art in terms of a superior culture dominating a passive one, and the alternative view that condemns western cultural dominance but fails to allow any form of indigenous expression. CONTENTS (1) The Phenomenon: Occidental Orientations (2) Art Education ^d Raj Patronage (3) Salon Artists and the Rise of the Indian Public (4) The Power of the Printed Image (5) The Artist as Charismatic Individual: Raja Ravi Varma (6) Bengali Patriots and Art for the Nation (7) Ideology of Swadeshi Art (8) How the Past was Salvaged by Swadeshi Artists (9) Westemisers and Orientalists: Public Battle of Styles (10) The Passing of the Age of Oriental Art. SPECIFICATIONS Trimmed pages 246x189 mm. Extent c.505pp 30 colour plates 200 halftones. Hardcover ISBN 0 521 44354 7 Special Price for India Rs 1250 DISTRIBUTORS FOUNDATION BOOKS 2/19 Ansari Road, New Delhi 110 002 Tel 328585 (sales)/3274196 Fax 3267224