Image and Empire: Picturing India during the Colonial Era

Europe has always looked to the East as a source for wealth, trade, and inspiration. At no time was this connection felt more strongly than during the period of colonial expansion, from the 17th through the 20th century. The quest for luxury goods and trading partners brought Europeans to India, where they encountered exotic sites, ancient monuments, and schools of local artists. Seaports like Madras and Calcutta quickly evolved into wealthy cosmopolitan cities, which attracted western artists to serve their new inhabitants and to document colonial life for audiences back home. The resulting contact among patrons, artists, and artworks from different cultures fueled a revolution in Indian art and a fascination with the exotic East in Europe.

This period and the artwork it inspired are the subject of Image and Empire: Picturing India During the Colonial Era. This exhibition features objects from the Harvard University Art Museums along with works from other local and univer-sity collections, including Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Houghton Library. Ranging from picturesque landscapes and “Company paintings” (works commissioned by British residents serving the East India Company) to luxurious ivories and documentary photographs, the exhibition highlights the shared innovations in style, subject matter, and vision as local and foreign artists undertook the task of picturing India.

Organized by Kimberly Masteller, assistant curator, Department of Islamic and Later Indian Art.

Funded by Melvin R. Seiden.