226. The Rise and Fall of East India Company Painting (Ep 2)

Empire

Jack Davenport

History

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Calcutta in the late 18th century was a chaotic, fast-growing city, filled with fortune seekers, towering mansions, and an ever-present sense of impermanence. Inspired by the botanical and zoological paintings they encountered in Lucknow, Sir Elijah Impey, the first Chief Justice of Bengal, and his wife, Lady Mary Impey, brought this style to Calcutta, where they assembled an artistic salon and commissioned Indian artists to document the natural world in beautiful detail. Lady Impey, a passionate naturalist, became the unlikely patron of some of India's greatest animal painters, including Sheikh Zayn al-Din, Bhawani Das, and Ram Das. Working with delicate squirrel-hair brushes, these artists captured birds, mammals, and even bats with stunning precision. Their art, once viewed merely as scientific record-keeping, is now recognized as some of the finest examples of Indian painting from the colonial period. Listen as William and Anita trace the journey of this artistic tradition from Lucknow to Calcutta and beyond, exploring how European patrons influenced Indian artists - and how, in turn, Indian artistry left an indelible mark on Western botanical and zoological illustration. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Senior Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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1:29.0	Hello and welcome to Empire with me Anita Arlen
1:44.7	And me, William Drupal.
1:46.8	So the last episode, which you were more hilarious than you've ever been,
1:51.7	where this is all serious about gardens and you came to the garden part of it in the last three minutes.
1:59.0	It's a record of preamble, even for you.
	...

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