Patna Painting

Book Details:

• ISBN: 9788130716831
• Author: Mildred Archer
• Pages: 100 pp
• Year of Publishing: 2016
• Binding: Hardback
• Publisher: Cosmo Publications

This book explores the evolution of the "Company" art, a style that emerged after the collapse of the Mughal empire. Artists, once based in the central Mughal court, dispersed and found new opportunities in the Pahari Hindu Courts of Northern India and in the Anglo-Indian settlements, particularly those centered around British commerce and trade. The result was a fusion of Eastern and Western artistic traditions, known for its distinct style, influenced by the cultural exchange between Europeans and Indians during the nineteenth century.

The "Company" or "Firangi" art represents the blending of European and Indian tastes and is reflective of the changing dynamics of power and wealth in the period. This book analyzes the attitudes, interests, and cultural fusion that gave rise to the Patna School of Painting, offering an insightful examination of this important style of painting, which is rarely covered in other works.