Art 3319 - 001 Art & Architecture of India

ART 3319 - 001 ART & ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA

Melia Belli

Class times: T. 6:00-8:50 pm

Office hour:FAB 297M. 3:30-4:30 or by appointment

Course Description:

This is an upper division course that covers a range of sacred (Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, Islamic), secular, courtly, and popular artistic traditions in South Asia from prehistoric times to present.

Texts:

Cummins, Joan, Indian Painting from Cave Temples to the Colonial Period, (Boston, 2006)
Dehejia, Vidya, Indian Art, (London, 1997)

Supplemental for background:

Asher, Catherine, Architecture of Mughal India, (Cambridge, 1992)

Basham, A.L., The Wonder the Was India, vol. I, (New Delhi, 1967)

Beach, Milo, Masters of Indian Painting(2 Vol Set), (London, 2011)

Hawkins, Bradley, Asian Religions, (New York, 2003)

Gascoigne, Bamber, A Brief History of the Great Moguls: India's Most Flamboyant Rulers, (Philadelphia, 2002)

Keay, John, India: A History, (New York, 2001)

Koch, Ebba, The Complete Taj Mahal, (New York, 2006)

Rizvi, S.A.A, The Wonder that Was India, vol. II, (New Delhi, 1987)

Rogers, J.M., Mughal Miniatures, (London, 1993)

Topsfield, Andrew, Paintings from Mughal India, (Oxford, 2008)

Verma, Som Prakash, Interpreting Mughal Painting: Essays on Art,Society and Culture, (Oxford, 2009)

Student Learning Objectives:

Introduce students to some of the best known examples of South Asian paintings, sculptures, and works of architecture from the pre-historic to contemporary periods.
Familiarize students with socio-historical and religious backgrounds against which these works of art were made and their contemporary uses and interpretations.
Broaden students’ cross-cultural understandings of “art.”
Improve students’ analytical, research and writing skills.

Requirements and grade breakdown:

Regular attendance to class:10%Attendance is mandatory. If you miss three classes without valid explanation and/ or proof, your will be deducted a full letter grade from your final class grade.
Attendance to Islamic art lecture on campus (TBA) and one page typed response: 5%.If you are not able to attend the lecture, please inform me beforehand.
Midterm with image identification (images will be posted on the class web site) and two brief essays from a list of study questions: 15%.
Final exam: format like midterms: 30%. The exams are not cumulative.
Paper proposal with working bibliography(at least 4 academic sources, either journal articles or books): 5%
Session at the campus writing center: 5% You are required to make an appointment with the UTA writing center and bring a copy of your final class paper for review. Proof of your visit to the center (a standard form) from the tutor is required.
Research paper. You have two options for your paper:

1. Write on any topic covered in the course- you are welcome to see me for guidance/ ideas.

2. Plan an exhibition of South Asian art.Imagine that you are a curator at a major museum and you have free reign to plan the South Asian art exhibition of your dreams. Money is no object.Some possible exhibition themes include: Mughal or Rajput miniature painting, Buddhist, Hindu, or Jain sculpture, depictions of a specific deity or women in South Asian art.

An exhibition paper should include the following components:

Introduction for an exhibition catalogue. This will introduce your exhibition, the uniting theme (s) of your paintings, their historical context, and consideration of their patrons, artists, socio-historical context, and original audiences. You may consult (and reference) recent exhibition catalogues as examples.

A discussion of at least five works of artfor your exhibition, an explanation of their media, histories, uses, and any other relevant information about them. Also note their current location (name of collection).
Detailed explanation of the layout of your exhibition and explanation of why you have chosen to organize it in this way.
Note: this must be a hypothetical exhibition of your OWN design, you may not write on an exhibition that has already been staged.

Either paper should be 6-8 pages of text, with a clear thesis statement, images and bibliography of at least 4 academic sources excluding course textbooks. Internet sources will not be accepted, with the exception of academic articles posted on JSTOR): 30%

Extra Credit (2 points): Fieldtrip to the D/FW Hindu Temple (1605 N. Britain Road, Irving, TX75061. PH:972-445- 3111) at 12:00, 02/19.

College/ University General Policies:

Drop Policy: Effective Fall 2006, adds and drops may be made through late registration either on the Web at MyMav or in person in the academic department offering the course. Drops may continue in person until a point in time two-thirds of the way through the semester, session, or term. Students are responsible for adhering to the following regulations concerning adds and drops.

A student may not add a course after the end of the late registration period.
No grade is posted if a student drops a course before 5:00 p.m. CST on the Census Date of that semester/term.
A student entering the University for the first time in Fall 2006, or thereafter, may accrue no more than a total of 15 semester credit-hours of coursework with a grade of W during his or her enrollment at the University.
A student may drop a course with a grade of "W" until the two-thirds point of the semester, session, or course offering period. A student may drop a course after that point only upon approval of the appropriate official.
Exceptions to this policy may be entertained because of extraordinary non-academic circumstances. Under such circumstances, approval must be received from the instructor, department chair, dean, and the Office of the Provost.

Americans with Disabilities Act: The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 92-112 - The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens.

As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining academic accommodations can be found at you may visit the Office for Students with Disabilities in room 102 of University Hall or call them at (817) 272-3364.

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"Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Series 50101, Section 2.2)

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Schedule of Classes and Readings[*]

Week 1(01/18): Introduction: The Art and Material Culture of Pre-Historic South Asia: the IndusValley Civilization

Dehejia, pp.4-37
Dhyansky, Yan Y.,“The IndusValley Origin of a Yoga Practice,” Artibus Asiae 48, 1/2, (1987).

Further Reading:

Srinivasan, Doris Meth, “The Mauryan Ganika from Didarganj (Pataliputra),” East and West55, 1-4 (December, 2005)
For religious and historical background on Buddhism, see: Hawkins, Bradley, Asian Religions, (New York, 2004), Ch. 10, 121-125

Week 3 (02/01): Buddhist Murals and Buddhist and Jain manuscript painting

Dehejia, pp. 103-124; 170-178
Cummons, 11-25
Dehejia, “On Modes of Visual Narration in Early Buddhist Art,” The Art Bulletin 2, no. 3 (1990)

Further Reading:

Behl, Benoy K., The AjantaCaves: Ancient Paintings of Buddhist India, (London, 1998)
Keay, Ch.7
for an introduction to Jainism, see: Hawkins, Ch.9

Week 4(02/08):Early Hindu Temples in north and south India; processional images from south India

Dehejia, pp.125-166; 177-182; ch. 8-10
Branfoot, Crispin, “Processions and Presence: Bronze Sculptures from the Temples of Southern India,” Arts of Asia36, 6, (November/ December 2006)
Blurton, T. Richard, “The Temple,” in Hindu Art,(London, 1994)

Further Reading:

Eck, Diana, Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India, (New York, 1981)

Week 5:(instead of class at usual time, we will have an optional field trip for 2 points extra credit to the DFW Hindu temple in Irving on Saturday, 02/19. Meet at the main entrance of the temple at 12:00 p.m. See above for address. Please remember that this is a place of worship and to dress and behave appropriately at the site: no shorts or mini skirts. You will be asked to remove your shoes before entering the temple, but may leave your socks on.

Week 6 (02/22): Midterm 1

Week 7 (03/01): Early Indo-Islamic painting and architecture (Sultanate)

Cummons, 25-33
Dehejia, ch. 11
Welch, Anthony and Crane, Howard, “The Tughluqs: Master Builders of the Delhi Sultanate,” Muqarnas1, (1983)

Further Reading:

Alfieri, Bianca Maria, Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, (New York, 2000), pp.14-50
Asher, “Legacy and Legitimacy: Sher Shah’s Patronage of Imperial Mausaleua,” in Ewig, Katherine ed., Shari’at and Ambiguity in South Asian Islam, (Berkeley, 1988)
Brend, Barbara, “The Shahnamah of 1438 as a Sultanate Manuscript,” inFacets of Indian Art: a Symposium Held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Robert Skelton, Andrew Topsfield, Susan Stronge, And Rosemary Crill,(Eds.), (New Delhi,1986)
For background on South Asian Islam, see: Hawkins, 66-74, 162-165
Keay, India: A History, (New York, 2001), Ch. 11
Welch, Anthony, “Architectural Patronage and the Past: The Tughluq Sultans of India,” Muqarnas 10, (1993)

Week 8 (03/08): Sultanate Painting II, early Hindu painting in north India, and early Mughal architecture under Akbar

Dehejia, ch. 13
Lowry, Glenn D.,“Humayun's Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture,”Muqarnas4, (1987)

Further Reading:

Alfieri, Islamic Architecture, pp.182-202
Grube, Ernst, A Mirror for Princes from India: Illustrated Versions of the Kalilah Wa Dimnah, Anvar-I Suhayli, Iyar-Is Danish and Humayun Nameh, (Mumbai, 1991)
Keay,India… Ch. 11
Klingelhofer, William G., “The Jahangiri Mahal of the Agra Fort: Expression and Experience in Early Mughal Architecture,” Muqarnas 5, (1988)
Lowry, Glenn D., "Delhi in the 16th Century," Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 1, (1984)
Rogers, ch. 1, 3, 4,5

Week 9 (03/15)SPRING BREAK!

Week 10 (03/22): Mughal Painting under Akbar

Cummins, Ch. 2

Further Reading:

Chandra, Pramod, The Tuti- Nama of the ClevelandMuseum of Art, (Graz, 1976)
Gascoigne, A Brief History of the Great Moguls, Ch. 3
Sen, Geeti, Paintings from the Akbar Nama,(Varanasi, 1984)
Skelton, Robert, “Iranian Artists in the Service of Hamayun,” Marg 46, no. 2 (1994)
Thackston, Wheeler M.(trans.),The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur Prince and Emperor,(New York, 2002)

Week 11 (03/29):Mughal Architecture and Painting under Emperor Jahangir

Bailey, Gauvin Alexander, “The Indian Conquest of Catholic Art: The Mughals, the Jesuits, and Imperial Mural Painting,” Art Journal, 57, no. 1, (Spring, 1998)

Further Reading:

Alfieri, Islamic Architecture, 226-240
Findly, Ellison Banks. “The Pleasure of Women: Nur Jahan and Mughal Painting,” Asian Art 6, no. 2, (1993)
Gascoigne, Ch.4
Koch, Ebba, “The Influence of the Jesuit Mission on Symbolic Representations of the Mughal Emperors,” in Troll, Christian W., Islam in India: Studies and Commentaries (New York, 1982)
Koch, Ebba, “Jahangir and the Angels: Recently Discovered Wall Paintings under European Influence in the Fort of Lahore,” Deppert, J. ed., India and the West, (New Delhi, 1983)
Rogers, ch. 6
Thackston, Wheeler M. (trans.), The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India, (Oxford, 1999)
Verma, Som Prakash, “Portraits of Birds and Animals under Jahangir,”Marg 50, 3, (1999)

Week 12 (04/05): Mughal Architecture and painting under Emperor Shah Jahan

Asher,“A Ray from the Sun: Mugal Ideology and the Visual Construction of the Divine," in Bruce Kapstein, ed., The Presence of Light: Divine Radiance and Religious Experience, Chicago, 2004
Begley, Wayne E., “The Myth of the Taj Mahal and a New Theory About Its Symbolic Meaning,” The Art Bulletin 61, (1979)

Further Reading:

Alfieri, Islamic Architecture, pp.240-264
Beach, Milo Cleveland, et al., The King of the World: Padshah: An Imperial Mughal Manuscript for the Royal Library, WindsorCastle, (New York, 1997)
Brand,Michael, “Orthodoxy, Innovation and Revival: Considerations of the Past in Imperial Mughal Tomb Architecture,”Muqarnas 10, (1993)
Gascoigne, ch. 5
Welch, Anthony, The Emperor’s Album: Images of Mughal India,(New York, 1987)
Wright, Elane, Muraqqa': Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, (Alexandria, 2008)

Week 13(04/12):Rajput Painting of the Planes

NOTE: if you have not already gone to the campus writing center with a draft of your paper, please do so this week. Proof of your visit is due next class.

Cummins, Ch. 4,5
Desai,Vishakha N., “Painting and Politics in Seventeenth-Century North India: Mewar, Bikaner and the Mughal Court,” The Art Bulletin 49, no. 4, (1990)

Further Reading:

Aitken, Molly, The Intelligence of Tradition in Rajput Court Painting, (New Haven, 2010)
Aiken, “Pardah and Portrayal: Rajput Women as Subjects, Patrons and Collectors,” Artibus Asiae 62, no. 2, (2003)
Desai, Vishakha N., “Timeless Symbols: Royal Portraits from Rajasthan 17th to 19th Centuries,” in Schomer, Karine et al, eds., The Idea of Rajasthan: Explorations in Regional Identity, (New Delhi, 2001)
Ducrot, Vicky, Four Centuries of Rajput Painting: Mewar, Marwar and Dhundhar Indian Miniatures from the Collection of Isabelle and Vicky Ducrot, (New Delhi, 2009)
Topsfield, Andrew ed., Court Painting in Rajasthan (Mumbai, 2000)
Topsfield, The CityPalaceMuseum, Udaipur: Paintings of Mewar Court Life,(1990, Ahmedabad)
Welch, Stuart Carey, ed., Gods Kings and Tigers: The Art of Kotah,(New York, 1997)

Week 14(04/19):Rajput Painting of the Hills

PAPER PROPSAL, WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND PROOF OF VISIT TO THE WRITING CENTER DUE IN HARD COPY IN CLASS

Cummins, Ch. 6
Aiken, Molly Emma, “Spectatorship and Femininity in Kangra Style Painting,” in Dehejia, Vidya, Representing the Body: gender Issues in Indian Art, (New Delhi, 1997)

Further Reading:

Archer, W.G., “Pahari Miniatures: A Concise History,” Marg 28, no. 2 (1975)
Archer, W.G., Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills(London, 1973)
Goswamy, B.N., Fischer, Ebehard, Pahari Masters, (Oxford, 1997)

Week 15: (04/26): Modern Indian Painting: Kalighat, Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher Gil

Uberoi, Patricia, “Feminine Identity and National Ethos in Indian Calendar Art,” Economic and Political Weekly, 25, No. 17 (Apr. 28, 1990)
Mitter, Partha, “Two Pioneering Women Artists,” in The Triumph of Modernism: India’s Artists and the Avant-Garde, 1922-1947, (London, 2007)
On-line article on Vivan Sunderam:

Guha-Thakurta, Tapati, The Making of a New ‘Indian’ Art: Artists, Aesthetics, and Nationalism in Bengal c.1850-1920 (Cambridge, 1992)

Jain, Jyotindra, Kalighat Painting: Images from a Changing World, (Ahmedabad, 1994)
Rossi, Barbara, From the Ocean of Painting: India's Popular Paintings, 1589 to the Present, (Oxford, 2000)
Sunderam, Vivan, Amrita Sher-Gil: Essays, (New Delhi, 1972)

Week 16(05/03): Contemporary South Asian Art and final review

On-line article on Subodh Gupta:

Kumar, Shiva R., “Modern Indian Art: A Brief Overview,” Art Journal, 58, no. 3 (Autumn, 1999)
Patel, Gieve, “Contemporary Indian Painting,” Daedalus 118, no. 4, Another India (Fall, 1989)

Further Reading:

Dalmia, Yoshadara, Memory, Metaphor, Mutations: The Contemporary Art of India and Pakistan, (London, 2007)
Sambrani, Chaitanya. Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India (Exhibition catalogue)(London, 2005)
Seid, Betty, New Narratives: Contemporary Art from India, (Ahmadabad, 2007)
On-line article on Subodh Gupta:

[*] I reserve the right to change this portion of the syllabus.