Presentation Schedule
From Miniature to Modern: Continuity of Visual Narratives and Symbolism in Indian Art (106315)
Session Chair: Xiaohui Guo
This presentation will be live-streamed via Zoom (Online Access)
Wednesday, 13 May 2026 17:00
Session: Session 4
Room: Live-Stream Room 5
Presentation Type: Live-Stream Presentation
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The paper analyses how the use of visual narrative and symbolism within Indian Art has developed from Miniature Paintings to contemporary works, specifically looking at Modernism (in particular, within the context of Western Modernity) and Indian Art, as previously understood in art history, has largely been classified as having been a break caused by Western Modernity. However, this research questions the dominant discourse of professional experts regarding Indian Modern Art by suggesting that the visual narrative structures and symbolic forms found within Miniature Paintings, principally the Mughal, Rajput and Pahari Schools, have been incorporated, transformed and absorbed into modern Indian Art, to varying degrees. This study is primarily based on secondary material such as scholarly books on the Miniature Painting tradition, exhibition catalogues, and critical essays regarding the development of Artists working in the Indian Modernist tradition, specifically, through a visual narrative, semiotic, and post-colonial theory approach. A comparative visual analysis of various narrative strategies is used in the interpretation and context of Indian Modern Art, and their evolution through the artworks of such prominent figures as Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, K.G. Subramanyan, and Ramkinkar Baij. The results support the findings of this paper, which conclude that through a dialogue of continuity and transformation, Indian Modern Art is not a complete split from traditional visual language and creation. By emphasizing narrative continuity in Indian visual art, this study re-evaluates Indian modernism. It offers a culturally grounded alternative to Eurocentric models of historical progression.
Authors:
Sangita Das, Alliance University, India
About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Sangita Das is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Alliance University in Bangalore, India.
Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangita-das-b40866198/
See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule
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