The Surrendra Paul Art Gallery in Delhi is exhibiting a handpicked collection of oil paintings dating from the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

What is an oil painting?

A painting is said to be an oil painting if it has been painted with paint that has been created with oil.

These paintings provide art enthusiasts with a unique opportunity to view mythological paintings from that time period.

The exhibition is titled “Mythological Oil Paintings: 19th and Early 20th Century of Bengal.”

Important Details

• The exhibition features more than twenty-five oil paintings that have been loaned from private collectors located all throughout the nation.
• Experts claim that the paintings part of this exhibition date back to the time when oil painting first began in India.
• Further, it depicts mythological figures that the majority of people are familiar with.
• For example, there are paintings on display in the show depicting Radha and Krishna, Kalankavajan, Goddess Kali, and Lord Rama.
• Historians say five European training colonies were established on the Hooghly River from the 17th to the 20th century.
• These communities or colonies belonged to the British, the French, the Danes, the Dutch, and the Portuguese.
• Here, native painters learned how to use oil colours and paint on canvases from other artists.
• Firstly, native artists trained in the European style during the 19th century in Calcutta, when the city’s formal art education system was first established.
• Secondly, these artists began practising their own traditional subjects, such as gods and goddesses, as well as portraits of prominent figures of the era.
• Interestingly, it was not a common practice during that time period to credit the artist on religious works of art, thus none of the paintings bears the creator’s name.

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Watch a video

Paint Coach gives a crash course on oil painting on YouTube.

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