KOCHI: A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform.”
Women are the pillars of any civilisation. The roles they have played have shaped the world and yet, for most of history, they have remained unacknowledged.
Shifting social norms have often altered and moulded these roles and art has served to be visual documentation of these changing statuses. From being merely ornamental motifs to finally being embodiments of gender identity, these meandering perceptions have been represented in art for centuries.
THE EARLIEST PORTRAYALS
The first ever paintings on cave walls were handprints left behind nearly 30,000 years ago and research has shown them to be of women. So, it could be proudly stated that the earliest artists in the world were women. In India, the Bhimbetka cave paintings are the earliest, and the women here have been depicted as participants in a lot of activities including hunting, sometimes even digging rats out of holes! With civilisations transforming the nomadic nature of mankind, the images of women primarily became representations of fertility. Women in the Indus Valley civilisation played much more significant roles in society than in any other ancient civilisation. Their ability to produce offspring was of utmost importance and many sculptures discovered from this period show women nursing their children. Gender preferences seem to have been prevalent even then as the children in these maternal figurines were predominantly male.
THE MUGHAL WOMEN
When the Mughals invaded India, Babur considered the presence of women as very essential for legitimising his fledgling empire. In the later periods under Jahangir and Shah Jahan’s reigns, women, especially in royal families were considered equal to men and sometimes, were even made co-rulers. Mughal art, which was heavily influenced by Persian styles, has an almost near absence of women compared to men. This may be due to the limitations imposed on the visibility of the women of the court due to the purdah system. However, the depiction of ordinary women in public were not bound by such customs and were painted as performing mundane chores. For instance, in the Akbarnama, a chronicle of the reign of Akbar, artists Tulsi and Miskin’s illustrations of the construction of the Agra Fort also show women working with men. There are a multitude of paintings of women taking part in festivities too.
STORIES FROM ANCIENT CAVES
The paintings in the Ajanta and Ellora caves are world-renowned, no doubt, but it is interesting to observe that the women in most of these paintings are merely beautiful accompaniments, added to the largely male-centric murals to create the perfect aesthetics. Their bodies were voluptuous and their expressions were personifications of grace. Paintings and sculptures where women were a part of the central narrative were very few, with the paintings of Lord Buddha’s mother and groups of women rejoicing at the birth of Lord Mahavira being the exception.
COMPANY PAINTING
When Mughal rule gave way to the rule of the British Empire, colonisation brought forth what was termed Company paintings. Painted by Indians who worked for patrons from the East India Company, they offered peeks into everyday life in British India. The women in these paintings of the 19th century were either shown as deities or going about their household chores. Many of these artworks also render them as dancers and courtesans.
THE FEMININE ENERGY OF A CAPTIVE NATION
In the pre-independence era, when calls for freedom from colonial rule were becoming louder throughout the nation, the country took on a feminine form, thanks to Bengali artist Abanindranath Tagore. In 1905, he depicted the nation as Bharat Mata or Mother India, a much-needed symbol of nationalism that greatly helped unite the rebelling country - as both strength and love are maternal virtues. The image became so popular and not only inspired the freedom struggle but also became a household image, which remains to this day.
WOMEN IN A FREE COUNTRY
After independence and with the rise of several brilliant women artists, artistic expressions took on a feminist consciousness, and a woman’s voice was heard through her own tongue. In the mid-20th century, soon after independence, there were still many taboos and restrictions that women faced in pursuing art. And yet, exceptions like Amrita Sher-Gil and others whose self-portraits challenged the male gaze and the way women were depicted in art over the centuries gradually brought on new perceptions. In a newly independent India, more women were progressively able to pursue an education in arts and through their powerful artworks, were able to reclaim their bodies from male interpretations prevalent in art since time immemorial. The days of women as decorative symbols or manifestations of child-bearing domesticity in art are almost disappearing with this reclamation and bolder portrayals of feminine energy have brought on an understanding of a woman’s identity. Women’s roles as icons ranged from being seductive and erotic to mythical and religious as they imparted social, political, and ethical values. As we progress into new eras, may these liberated depictions of women herald a fairer world for womankind!