Semester
I (Foundation Course)
1) Introduction
to the History of Indian Art
The course surveys
the major landmarks in Indian art history and traces the significant
developments in the architectural, sculptural and painting traditions
from their early beginnings to the modern period. Selective and significant
sites and schools of art and architecture shall be introduced in this
course along with the major art movements.
2) Introduction to Museology
The course aims
to acquaint students with the fundamentals of the role and functions
of museums from their historical beginnings to the present, the philosophy
and multifarious nature of museums including emerging trends in Museology
in the form of New Museology that sees museums "beyond walls."
3) Introduction
to Conservation Science
Museum collections
and heritage sites form a basis for the study of art history in a substantial
manner. With time, these collections and sites do undergo various types
of deterioration necessitating their conservation. Though a specialized
science, certain aspects of conservation such as preventive conservation
can be implemented by professionals other than conservators. The course
will cover basics relating to the conservation of cultural heritage.
The emphasis will be on preventive conservation but curative aspects
of conservation shall also be briefly discussed.
4) Art History:
Historiography & Methodology
This course will
discuss in-depth, the basic premises, key concepts, definite principles
and techniques that help comprehend art history as a discipline. Methods
of art historical enquiry shall be discussed in their historiographical
framework. The course surveys the ways in which Indian art has been
understood during the past two centuries. Paradigmatic shifts in methodological
approaches and global awareness of Indian art, beginning with colonial
orientalists to more recent scenarios shall be examined in an effort
to understand the impact of past histories on the discipline. Art historical
methodologies and interpretative approaches in the west shall be briefly
introduced to examine their relevance to Indian Art History.
* All courses offered in the Foundation Course are compulsory.
Semester
II
1) Early Indian
Art
The course begins
with Mauryan court art and folk art and then considers the art of Bharhut,
Sanchi, Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. It then includes the study of
the rock-cut caves of western India: Bhaja, Bedsa and Karle. It deals
with the two schools of art of the Kushana period, namely, Gandhara
and Mathura. The course covers the salient features of Gupta art and
the early artistic traditions of Kashmir and eastern India.
2) Ancient Art of Egypt & Mesopotamia
Heliocentric Egypt
and theocratic City States of Mesopotamia produced regional variations
in art, architecture and seals. Religious and funerary art include the
earliest books with vignettes. Style, iconography and writing in pictograms
reveal both convergences and divergences. An extensive pantheon and
communication through symbols is common while the unique style of monotheistic
Amarna Period in Egypt is an exception. Imperial art of Assyrian and
Persia derived much from conquered Egypt.
3) Architecture
& Sculpture of Early Medieval North India
This course traces
the early beginnings and development of temple architecture and sculpture
from the fifth through the end of the thirteenth century A.D. It is
structured around in-depth case studies of four or five representative
regional northern Indian temple types and addresses structural, empirical,
iconographical, stylistic, and ideological issues in temple studies.
Notably the Maru-Gurjara region represented by the Jaina and Brahmanical
temples of Gujarat and Rajasthan, the Kalinga style as seen in the temples
of Orissa, the styles and sub-styles prevalent in Central India under
the patronage of the Gurjara-Pratiharas, Chedis, Chandellas, and Kacchapaghatas,
and the temples of Kashmir shall be discussed.
4) Indian Architecture
(High Medieval Period)
The course focuses
on select Indo-Islamic monuments and Rajput & Mughal forts, palaces,
havelis, and step-wells of the high medieval period in relation to their
cultural, political, socio-economic, and aesthetic contexts. Particular
emphasis shall be given to the architectural traditions that prevailed
under the patronage of the Deccan Sultanates. It shall discuss the religious
and courtly architecture of the Vijayanagara and Nayaka periods in South
India. The approach emphasizes past and recent methodological concerns
in understanding particularities of form and also in situating architecture
as integral to cultural histories.
5) Buddhist Art
of Central Asia
Central Asia- the
crossroad for the culture of many oriental people was the focal point
of influence from Greece, Persia, India and China. In its core area
it has areas traditionally known as Western Central Asia and Eastern
Central Asia. The course focuses upon the Buddhist art of these regions
and its relationship to the artistic traditions of Ladakh, Tibet and
Nepal.
Semester
III
1) Greek Art
The course begins
with Bronze Age Greek Art: Minoan and Mycenaean frescoes and Thera as
also the palaces of this period, for example, Knossos. It deals with
sculpture: Kouros and Kore of the Archaic period, as also Hellenic and
Hellenistic sculpture in relation to its diffusion in the art of the
Gandharan region. It deals with the three Orders of temples: Doric,
Ionic and Corinthian and major temples like the Parthenon, Zeus temple
of Olympia etc. The course deals with ancient Greek pottery: Proto Geometric,
black figure painting, red figure painting etc. It also focuses on Greek
mosaics and the evolution of Greek theatre.
2) Imperial Art
of Rome to Proto-Renaissance
Course includes
Imperial monuments and religious architecture, portraits in sculpture,
engraved gems, coins, mosaic, and mummy-boards. Roman painting and mosaic
from villas and public places lead to conceptual art of early Christianity
in the necropolis of Vatican, catacombs, mausoleums and sculptured sarcophagi.
Byzantine architecture and mosaic are studied in Ravenna, Constantinople
and the Mosque of Cardova in Spain. France fostered Romanesque and Gothic
architecture, sculptures, stain glass windows, ivory carving and illuminated
manuscripts and produced art of reliquary, metal craft and enameling.
Birth of humanism and realism in France and Flanders is characterized
by the late medieval paintings of the Limburg Brothers and the Van Eycks.
3) Architecture
& Sculpture of South India (c. 6th-13th A.D.)
The course involves
a contextual understanding of the visual culture of early medieval South
India in the light of various indigenous and extraneous impulses that
manifested in the art of the period. A selective cross-section of narrative
and iconic sculpture and temple architecture shall be studied in relation
to their structural, ritualistic, stylistic, iconological, and socio-political
significance. Notably, rock-cut and structural temples and associated
sculpture in stone and bronze created during the reigns of the Western
Chalukyas of Badami, the Rashtrakutas, the Pallavas, the Cholas, the
Later Chalukyas, and the Hoysalas shall be studied.
4) Art of Renaissance
The course gives
an introduction to painting and sculpture in Europe during the Renaissance
period, ca. 1400-1600, focusing on important individual artists and
on cities that were major centres of artistic production. Developments
such as the rise of landscape painting, printmaking and portraiture
are also considered. The course raises important themes to do with the
rising status of the artist, the role of patrons, and the wider client
base for different types of art. Religious and theological issues are
central to the course, since the challenge of the Reformation to the
power and dominance of the Roman Catholic Church had a profound impact
on the art of the period. The course also gives an insight into the
historiography of the Renaissance, questioning many traditional stereotypes.
It thus provides a methodological framework that can also be applied
to the study of non-western art.
5) Art of South
& Southeast Asia
The course surveys
developments in art and architecture in the region (excluding India)
with particular emphasis on Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand,
and Indonesia. The objective is to understand ideological and artistic
parallelisms in an Asian context, and also to examine the historical
and cultural ties with India in terms "inspiration," "dialogue,"
and "influence".
Semester
IV
1) Indian Painting
The course includes
the in-depth study of ancient and medieval Indian painting. The ancient
period deals with the Buddhist mural paintings of Ajanta and Bagh. This
is followed by the tradition of mural painting in South India that has
been documented at sites such as Badami, Kanchipuram, Panamalai, Tanjore,
and Sittanavasal. The course covers the study of Western Indian (Jaina)
manuscript painting and Eastern Indian (Pala) painting. The course also
involves the study of Mughal paintings, Rajasthani paintings with special
emphasis on the significant schools like Mewar, Bundi, Kota, Kishangarh,
Bikaner, and Jaipur; and Pahari paintings with special emphasis on Basohli,
Guler, and Kangra schools.
2) Modern Art
in India
Kalighat and Company
Painting and Chitpur prints evidence transformations taking place in
India, while Raja Ravi Varma's Academic Realism and the Orientalism
of the Bengal School of painting are two faces of Nationalism. Movements
in Modern Art in the West are compared to works by pioneers of Modern
Art in India. Influence of folk and tantric art is evidenced by certain
artists while transition period of Independence introduced new aesthetics.
Concept of artist as individual and Internationalism spans the 20th
century but the shift to 'indigenise' in the 1970's is a continuing
trend. Social commentary and religious sentiment, abstraction and ornamentation,
Magic Realism and Surrealism coexist with Video-Art and Installations.
The role of Art Galleries, Curators, Critics, Auction Houses and On-Line
Sellers as Gate-Keepers and Taste-Makers of Contemporary Art in India
will be assessed by students to gain practical knowledge.
3) Aesthetics
and Art Theory
Aesthetic theories,
texts, and art practice, shastric concepts and precepts, and their role
in the understanding of Indian art are critically examined. The inter-disciplinary
nature of Indian art is reviewed by placing art works in their literary
contexts. The course includes topics such as: an introduction to the
nature of art and aesthetic experience; world-view and artistic expression;
aesthetics in a historical perspective; the writings of important thinkers:
Bharata's Natyashastra, Prachina and Navina schools of Sanskrit poetics,
Dhvani and Rasa in the writings of Anandavardhana and Abhinavagupta;
canons of Indian art and their relationship to art practice; poetic
metaphors in Indian sculpture and painting; and an introduction to Islamic
aesthetics.
4) Art of China
& Japan
The course on China
will cover the following topics- Bronze age(18th to 11th cent B.C);
Influence of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism on art and life of Chinese
people; spread of Buddhist art - sculpture from 5th cent. to 12th/13th
cent.; Dunhuang art; Chinese mythology; Landscape painting; selected
works of famous artists to be studied; as well as Ch'an Buddhism and
paintings inspired by it. Art of Japan- Archaic period-pre-Buddhist
art and Shinto; introduction of Buddhism and Buddhist sculpture and
painting till early medieval period; Shinto and Buddhist amalgamation
and art; Zen art inspired from China; medieval scroll painting; Momoyama
screeen painting and Ukiyo-e prints from Edo period.
5) Tribal &
Folk Arts of India
The cultural diversity
of India is reflected in the folklore, music and dance that accompany
image in metal, woodcarving, terracotta, textile and other mediums.
The course includes rock art and ritual paintings of various regions
with reference to their varied functions. Radical intervention and challenges
that confront folk artists in contemporary condition leads to an assessment
of NGOs (Dastkari Kendra, Dakshin Chitra etc.) who undertake social
work, research, conservation and promotion of the folk and tribal art
of India. Certain other concerns are inbuilt into the course: What kind
of interdependence exists between institutions of collecting and methodological
goals of art history and anthropology? Analogical methods and semantics
of form encourage comparison with Pre-Columbian, Native American, Oceanic,
Australian and African art.
Note: In
addition to 13 taught courses, the students must complete two Seminars
and one Dissertation on specific areas of research interest under the
guidance of the faculty members.