Sundari painting

Last updated

Promoda Sundari, chromolithograph, Chorebagan Art Studio, late 19th century Promoda Sundari.jpg
Promoda Sundari, chromolithograph, Chorebagan Art Studio, late 19th century

Sundari paintings or Sundari images are a type of pin-up or erotic art that were popular in 19th-century Calcutta, in the province of Bengal in British India. [1] [2] Mostly sold as prints, the images depict women, particularly the new class of widows who took up sex work to survive, and are valuable references to understand the position of women in a society that was undergoing drastic shifts. [3]

Contents

Each Sundari, literally meaning 'beautiful woman', had a peculiar characteristic, such as playing the tabla, preparing paan, tuning the violin, or posing enticingly with roses. [3] Sundari images depict 19th-century Bengali woman who had to occupy the conflicted identity position of the widow and the courtesan, owing to the series of socio-political disruptions happening during the period. [3] The paintings provide a commentary on the larger social phenomenon of widowhood, that forced women into prostitution, which became prevalent during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Bengal post the abolition of sati . [1] [2]

Form and style

Sundari paintings were usually sold as chromolithograph prints, or watercolour pats, and even oil paintings. They were produced by popular art studios set up during the 1890s, such as the Chorebagan Art Studio, the Kansaripara Art Studio, etc. [2] [1] The art studios inherited the style of Kalighat painting that portrayed a wide variety of subjects, including modern day scandals, the babus and bibis, etc. [4] These paintings were in direct contrast with the religious oil paintings and prints that were being produced around the same time. The religious paintings were placed in temple rooms, mansions and respectable homes, while erotica paintings of Sundaris decorated the private quarters, dancing room of the babus, or the dancing parlours. [2] In most of these paintings, the Sundaris were depicted draped in the widow's garment, the typical white saree. These women were akin to the Mughal courtesans or tawaifs. The paintings served as pin-ups for the gentry class. However, they have a dark history. [3] [5]

History

Reformers like Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed the cause of women's rights in Bengal, heralding some of the most transformative changes at the turn of the century. Sati was abolished, widow remarriage was promoted, and child marriage was restrained in an attempt to end polygamy. [6] However, orthodox and upper-caste families refused to accept these changes. After the abolition of sati, the Kulin (upper-class Brahmin) families, unable to accept the widows, abandoned them as liabilities, forcing them to work as prostitutes, or migrate to Brindavan, the refuge for widows. Since the widows were rejected by their families, prostitution became a way of survival. [3]


Sumanta Banerjee highlights how the "first generation of prostitutes on the colonial world of market economy of 19th-century Bengal" included most significantly the widows from Kulin, besides women who were raped, abducted, struck by famine, or abject poverty." [7] This is corroborated by Alexander Mackenzie's account. A British civil servant, Mackenzie informed in a letter to H. L. Dampier, the Official Secretary to the Government of India in 1892, that “In Bengal, the prostitute class seems to be chiefly recruited from the ranks of Hindu widows.” [8] Usha Chakraborty, in her book Condition of Bengali Women around the 2nd Half of the 19th Century cites a survey report of 1850s. According to the report, out of 12,000 women working as sex workers in Kolkata during the time, 10,000 were Hindu widows. Most of them hailed from Kulin Brahmin families. [9] [10]

While the legal prohibitions against sati, and child marriage, saved the women from death, social dignity was still a long way to come –in this sense, the women were caught between conflicted positions of identity, and disjunct worlds of the past, present and future. [3] The women remain stranded as tradition and modernity clashed. Tapati Guha Thakurta noted how this resulted in a “a sharp edge in all cultural expressions” of that period. [11]

According to Shatadeep Maitra, art produced during the 19th century in Calcutta outlined the several changes that were happening due to the colonial influence. [3] Gods and Monsters wearing Oxford shoes,[ clarification needed ] women wearing blouses, changes in the official language policy as English replaced Persian, etc., were documented on the canvas. Similarly, Maitra states how “the end of sati pratha and its social consequences became mixed with popular imagery. Having limited or no education, many women whose husbands had died had to rely on sex work for survival.” [3] The Sundari paintings were produced as a result. [12]

The images served as pin-ups, but also involved voyeuristic dynamics as the women were shown wearing translucent saris. The paintings provided an entry point into the "sanctum sanctorum of a woman's home". [3] [13]

Noting the problem of sati, in his 1916 Columbia University thesis, B. R. Ambedkar wrote: "Sati, enforced widowhood, and girl marriage are customs that were primarily intended to solve the problem of the surplus man and surplus woman in a caste and to maintain its endogamy ... Burning the widow eliminates all the three evils that a surplus woman is fraught with. Being dead and gone, she creates no problem of remarriage either inside or outside the caste." [14]

Types

Pramoda Sundari

Pramoda Sundari images depict a woman sitting with several grooming products, brushing her hair while holding a mirror before her face. The paintings show an objectified representation of women engaged in self-care. [1] [2]

Anuragini

This is an example of a later Sundari iconography. The images depicting Anuragini, which means 'piety' in Bengali, show mature iconography. Her red saree connotes fertility, typically a power reserved for gods. In the backdrop, often other images are included hinting at mixed connotations. For instance, in a version produced by the Kansaripara Studio, there is a sculpture showing a goose being choked by an angel, in the background. This is a conventional Greco-Egyptian metaphor of the victory of good over evil. The same painting also subtly indicates that it is midnight on the cuckoo-clock, alluding to sexual meanings. [1] [2]

Bibi


The Bibi, referring to a married woman, formed another category of popular erotic art. Bibi was usually posed like the woman in the Pramoda Sundari prints, and her marital status was clearly indicated by the mark of vermillion on her forehead. The woman depicted is clearly objectified as a flirtatious lady desirable to all men around her. [1] [2]

Golap and Paan Sundari

In Golap Sundari paintings, [15] a woman was depicted holding a golap, or rose in Bengali, and posing licentiously, attracting her lover. Paan Sundari paintings was of a subtler idiom, but also had with sexual connotations. The latter depicted a woman preparing a betel-leaf, or paan, often known for its aphrodisiac quality. [16] The Paan Sundari image was also refined later by the Kansaripara Art Studio in what was called the Kumada Sundari paintings showing a bejewelled woman preparing a paan, probably for herself, or perhaps for her client. In a variant of a Golap Sundari painting, two women are portrayed sharing a rose –the flower here stands clearly as a metaphor for the lover. The sarees of the two women are painted in a way so as to present an illusion of them sharing a single piece of clothing. [1] [2]

Manada Sundari

Manada Sundari prints were produced by the Kamarpara Art Studio. Similar to other Sundaris represented with musical instruments, the Manada figure sketch initially was drawn with an oval face that was gradually refined in later stages. The instruments such as the violin are shown proportionally bigger in size. The background too features prominently in these prints: ranging from carpeted flooring, to textured patterns, and marbled skirting. The prints were based on illustrations made by different artists of the Studio. [1] [2]

Nalini Sundari

A Nalini Sundari, usually shown wearing expensive jewellery and ghungroo on her right foot, is depicted playing a bayan tabla, a percussion instrument. She is categorised as one of the Sundaris associated with musical instruments. The objectification of her image is closely comparable to the Mughal tawaifs or courtesans. Her translucent white saree with a black border corroborates the fact, merging in her identity both traces of a widow and a courtesan. [3] [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukiyo-e</span> Genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries

Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e translates as 'picture[s] of the floating world'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sati (practice)</span> Historical Hindu practice of widow immolation

Sati was a historical practice in Hindu communities in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. Although it is debated whether it received scriptural mention in early Hinduism, it has been linked to related Hindu practices in the Indo-Aryan-speaking regions of India. Greek sources from around 300 BCE make isolated mention of sati, but it probably developed into a real fire sacrifice in the medieval era within the northwestern Rajput clans to which it initially remained limited, to become more widespread during the late medieval era.

<i>Shunga</i> Japanese erotic art

Shunga (春画) is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; "spring" is a common euphemism for sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hishikawa Moronobu</span> Japanese painter (1618–1694)

Hishikawa Moronobu was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century. He consolidated the works of scattered Japanese art styles and forged the early development of ukiyo-e.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalighat painting</span> School of Indian painting

Kalighat painting, Kalighat Patachitra, or Kalighat Pat is style of Indian paintings which originated in the 19th century. It was first practiced by a group of specialized scroll painters known as the patuas in the vicinity of the Kalighat Kali Temple in Kolkata, in the present Indian state of West Bengal. Composed of bold outlines, vibrant colour tones, and minimal background details, these paintings and drawings were done on both hand-made and machine manufactured paper. The paintings depicted mythological stories, figures of Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as scenes from everyday life and society, thereby recording a socio-cultural landscape which was undergoing a series of transitions during the 19th and early 20th century, when the Kalighat pat reached its pinnacle.

<i>Bijin-ga</i> Japanese woodblock prints of beautiful women

Bijin-ga is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre.

Criticism of Hinduism has been applied to both historical and current aspects of Hinduism, notably Sati and the caste system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nacnī</span>

Nacni means female dancer in north Indian languages. In the east-central Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Orissa, the term nacnī refers to female performers who sing and dance professionally in rural areas, accompanied by male ḍhulkī and nagarā drummers who move around the stage with her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennie Augusta Brownscombe</span> American painter (1850–1936)

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe was an American painter, designer, etcher, commercial artist, and illustrator. Brownscombe studied art for years in the United States and in Paris. She was a founding member, student and teacher at the Art Students League of New York. She made genre paintings, including revolutionary and colonial American history, most notably The First Thanksgiving held at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She sold the reproduction rights to more than 100 paintings, and images of her work have appeared on prints, calendars and greeting cards. Her works are in many public collections and museums. In 1899 she was described by New York World as "one of America's best artists."

<i>Kōmei Bijin Rokkasen</i> Series of woodblock prints by Kitagawa Utamaro

Kōmei Bijin Rokkasen is a series of ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro and published in c. 1795–96. The subjects were well-known courtesans, geisha, and others associated with the Yoshiwara pleasure districts of Edo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utamaro's pictures of abalone divers</span> Japanese prints

The Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro made a number of prints depicting ama divers—women whose work is to dive for shellfish or pearls—catching haliotis abalone sea snails.

<i>Shinagawa no Tsuki</i>, <i>Yoshiwara no Hana</i>, and <i>Fukagawa no Yuki</i> Paintings by Kitagawa Utamaro

Shinagawa no Tsuki, Yoshiwara no Hana, and Fukagawa no Yuki are three hanging-scroll paintings corresponding to the themes of "moon", "flowers", and "snow", respectively. These were produced in the late 18th century by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro for the prominent merchant Zenno Ihē.

<i>Hari-shigoto</i> Color triptych print by Kitagawa Utamaro

Hari-shigoto is a colour triptych print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. It depicts women working with cloth at home with children playing around them. Critics hold the prints in high regard, in particular the skill required to reproduce the translucent effect of the cloth with woodblock prints.

<i>Kasen Koi no Bu</i> Series of woodblock prints by Kitagawa Utamaro

Kasen Koi no Bu is a series of five ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro and published c. 1793–94.

<i>Musashino</i> (Utamaro) Color triptych print by Kitagawa Utamaro

Musashino is a triptych print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. It is a mitate-e parody picture that alludes to the story in the 12th section of The Tales of Ise.

<i>Kushi</i> (Utamaro) Woodblock print by Kitagawa Utamaro

Kushi is a title given to a print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. It depicts a woman looking through a clear glass comb.

<i>Tsuitate no Danjo</i> Woodblock print by Kitagawa Utamaro

Tsuitate no Danjo is a title given to a multicolour print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. It depicts a young man and woman by a tsuitate partitioning screen. The print delivers the feeling of several layers of translucency as the woman peers through the folded cloth of the man's haori and the man is seen through a silk gauze–covered portion of the tsuitate.

<i>Hokkoku Goshiki-zumi</i> Series of five ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro

Hokkoku Goshiki-zumi is a series of five ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro and published in c. 1794–95.

<i>Fujin Tomari-kyaku no Zu</i> Color triptych print by Kitagawa Utamaro

Fujin Tomari-kyaku no Zu Sanmai-tsuzuki is a triptych print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. It depicts a group of women within a mosquito net preparing for an overnight visit.

Prostitution in Impressionist painting was a common subject in the art of the period. Prostitution was a very widespread phenomenon in nineteenth-century Paris and although an accepted practice among the nineteenth century bourgeoisie, it was nevertheless a topic that remained largely taboo in polite society. As a result, Impressionist works depicting the prostitute often became the subject of scandal, and particularly venomous criticism. Some works showed her with considerable sympathy, while others attempted to impart an agency to her; likewise some work showed high-class courtesans, and others prostitutes awaiting clients on the streets. In addition to the sexual revulsion/attraction the figure of the prostitute stirred, she functioned as a sign of modernity, a clear sign of the entanglement of sex, class, power and money.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Babu & the Bazaar: Art from the 19th & Early 20th–Century Bengal. Aditi Nath Sharkar, with Shatadeep Maitra. DAG Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2022. ISBN   978-93-81217-90-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Babu and the Bazaar". dagworld.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lakshmi, Rama (29 May 2023). "Between the brothel and Brindavan—Bengal art shows twin faces of Hindu widows after sati ban". ThePrint. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Kalighat Paintings: Babu, Bibi and Scandal". www.thevoiceoffashion.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Babu And The Bazaar: A Journey Through 19th And 20th Century Calcutta". 8 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Chakraborty, Rachana (2009), Hägerdal, Hans (ed.), "Women's Education and Empowerment in Colonial Bengal", Responding to the West, Essays on Colonial Domination and Asian Agency, Amsterdam University Press, pp. 87–102, ISBN   978-90-8964-093-2, JSTOR   j.ctt46mt0s.9 , retrieved 14 June 2023
  7. ↑ "The Beshya and the Babu-Prostitute and Her Clientele in 19th Century Bengal". 28 (45). 6 November 1993.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ Chatterjee, Ratnabali (1993). "Prostitution in Nineteenth Century Bengal: Construction of Class and Gender". Social Scientist. 21 (9/11): 159–172. doi:10.2307/3520431. ISSN   0970-0293. JSTOR   3520431.
  9. ↑ Chakraborty, Usha (1963). Condition of Bengali Women Around the 2nd Half of the 19th Century. Usha Chakraborty.
  10. ↑ "Prostitution in Colonial India - Mainstream Weekly". www.mainstreamweekly.net. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Thakurta, Tapati Guha (1991). "Women as 'Calendar Art' Icons: Emergence of Pictorial Stereotype in Colonial India". Economic and Political Weekly. 26 (43): WS91–WS99. ISSN   0012-9976. JSTOR   4398221.
  12. ↑ "'The Babu and The Bazaar' at DAG celebrates art of 19th-Century Bengal". The Indian Express. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "An exhibition that spotlights the female figure in early Bengal art". Mintlounge. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis, and Development, by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Golap Sundari, c.1900 by Nibaran Chandra Ghosh - art print from King & McGaw". King & McGaw. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "History of paan: a well-loved Indian treat wrapped in a betel leaf". South China Morning Post. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Whores, a painted history". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.