The advent of Modern Art can be traced back to the 1860s. It is preceded by the French revolution which established freedom as the core value in modern Europe. This upheaval also impacted the prevailing culture and art in a big way and changes the cultural landscape of Europe completely. Thus, Modern Art was born. Old traditions were set aside and new experimental ways and ideas took their place. Modern art gave rise to painters like Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec all of whom contributed immensely to the development of modern art. With active contribution from the Romantics, Realists and Impressionists, Modern art leans away from the narrative, which was characteristic of the traditional arts and bends more towards abstraction. A milestone was achieved in the early 20th century when Pablo Picasso arrived on the scene. He revolutionized modern art with his unique style and renditions. All this and much more is on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Indian modernism or the modern Indian art movement began in Calcutta in the late nineteenth century. Initially, painters such as Raja Ravi Varma led the revival of Indian art. Later, an art movement called the Bengal School of Art, which was a reaction to the western influence led to a revival in traditionalism, and drew heavily from the rich Indian culture. This was succeeded by the Santi Niketan school of art which was led by our only literary Nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Modern Indian Art was influenced by many schools of art and western styles, but depicted Indian themes and images. A group called The Progressive Artists' Group, was established shortly after independence and its intention was to establish new ways of expressing India in the post-colonial era. Its founder was Francis Newton Souza and Tyeb Mehta was a member. Many art galleries sprung up to showcase their work. It was quite successful in changing the idioms of Indian art. Not to be left out, many women painters of the era also contributed to this movement. Prominent amongst them was Amrita Sher-Gil. Today, modern Indian art is experiencing a renaissance of sorts in fine art, painting and mixed media. Indian paintings have widespread recognition and acclaim all across the globe and many new artists are great ambassadors of modern Indian art. This has also given a new lease of life to Asian art too. One such artist is Francis Newton Souza. His work has been displayed at the Venice Biennale and he has put Indian culture and modern Indian art, painting especially on the global stage and won India international recognition. Our website is dedicated to promoting Indian art and fine art and mixed media and you can buy modern art paintings, Indian online from our store.
