CHENNAI: The village of Madraspatnam was purchased by the East India Company on August 22, 1639, and thus was born the city we now know as Chennai — an oft-repeated story that we are all familiar with by now, especially with the Madras Day celebrations bringing forth the history of the city every year.
The Madras Presidency or the Presidency of Fort St George was an administrative subdivision of British India and it included not just Tamil Nadu but also Andhra Pradesh and parts of Kerala and Karnataka. This geographic region was studded with spectacular temples that even today remain as engineering marvels, sculptures that were breathtaking for the sheer skill in their execution, handicrafts and textiles that all sang praises of our gods, our scriptures and our people. Until the Europeans set foot on our land, Madras produced art that spoke in a native language.
The advent of the Europeans had a significant effect on the cultural vocabulary of Madras. The ships that crossed the shores and brought them to this land, did not contain only people with business interests and otherwise. Along with the traders and the administrators, there were several artists on board too, whose interest in visually capturing imagery from the Indian subcontinent through their paintings and illustrations proved to be incentive enough for them to make the long journey, besides the stories they had heard of India’s abundant wealth.
As expected, Indian craftsmanship completely astounded them. The rich Kalamkari textiles found a thirsty market in Europe and soon, weaving units were set up in places like Mylapore. Kalamkari became so popular as an export item that weavers from Kanchipuram were brought to Madras and weaving units were established solely to cater to these demands. With royal patronage declining after the Europeans took over the region, indigenous art faced a slow decline. European artists who came to Madras when it was founded, redefined prevalent styles, armed with their academic training.
Tilly Kettle was one of the first British painters who dared to undertake the risky journey to India. He landed at Madras after sailing with the East India Company and stayed for two years. He painted the portrait of the Nawab of the Carnatic, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah twice, the second one being with his five sons. His style of portraiture was European with the subject standing with all his royal finery next to velvet curtains and coconut trees in the background, a clear fascination for the British. He is said to have made a fortune by painting the aristocrats.
Just like Kettle, Thomas Daniell was also mesmerised by the stories of Indian wealth and set sail to Indian coasts accompanied by his nephew, William Daniell. Arriving in Kolkata, the duo set about documenting the landscapes, buildings and culture of India. They visited Madras twice and hired the services of two palanquins, using them to travel on routes that the British army had taken a year ago after defeating Tipu Sultan. They sketched and drew as they travelled and we owe a lot to them for their outstanding visual images of Madras as it was in the years after it was founded.
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George Chinnery was another accomplished British artist who sailed to Madras and found recognition in his chosen land. Although his paintings are historically important, his biggest contribution however was that he taught the British residents in Madras then, to print and make lithographs besides painting. Though he did not start any institution for formal training, his students John Gantz who was a draughtsman and architect employed by the East India Company and his son, Justinian Gantz made use of this learning and set up the first Lithographic Press in Broadway, Madras. Their sketches of the region went out in hundreds back to Europe thanks to the press.
Despite major shifts taking place in the approach to art practices in Madras when the region was formed and traditional art forms giving way to the strong influence of the European academic styles and perspectives that the colonists brought in, these artworks helped to map the city, to plan roads and to serve as visual descriptions of the city back then that no verbal record can ever match. While we celebrate the history of this grand city, let us also acknowledge the role art played in capturing this history for posterity.