Lecture on triumph of modernism

The video is a recording of a lecture delivered by the art historian Dr. Partha Mitter at Lalit Kala Akademi on 10th December, 2008. The title of the lecture was “Triumph of Modernism” and it looked at the different sources of Primitivism which informed modernism in Indian art in the early part of the 20th century. The entry of the Indian artists into the global avant garde was through the concept of Primitivism and print technology played an important role in granting this access in the colonial period. The artists could gain knowledge of the world through prints and become part of what Partha Mitter calls “virtual cosmopolis.” The speaker looked at the works of artists like Ravi Varma, Abanindranath Tagore, Hiten Majumdar, Amrita Shergill and Jamini Roy during the lecture.