Through the eyes of an artist: consumption ethos and commercial art in Bengal
Journal of Historical Research in Marketing
ISSN: 1755-750X
Article publication date: 21 September 2018
Issue publication date: 18 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Through a critical reading of a twentieth-century Bengali artist’s autobiography, this paper aims to attempt to demonstrate how commercial art and the consumption ethos symbolized by that art represented an archetypal bhadralok insignia. A close examination of this insignia reveals how the dynamics of modern liberal values mediating through the colonial capitalist structure in relation to the regional particularities of Bengal opened up a new space of cosmopolitanism, where there is an attempt to reframe cultural practices in the light of a broader global history of interrogation, reason, change and emancipation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a historical analysis of primary sources.
Findings
It was found that the bhadralok-led Bengal School of Art influenced commercial art of early postcolonial Bengal.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the region of Bengal.
Originality/value
This paper makes contributions to one of the less-researched, but very important areas, of business history in India.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author is thankful to Ranen Ayan Dutt (Dutt) and Ishita Ayan Dutt for giving me access to Dutt’s unpublished autobiography. Dutt graciously granted me the permission to reproduce three of his sketches here. The author would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript.
Citation
Datta, A. (2018), "Through the eyes of an artist: consumption ethos and commercial art in Bengal", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 242-261. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-03-2018-0014
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited