ব্রিটিশ ভারতে প্রাণী অঙ্কন ও মুদ্রন
Volume-XIV, Issue-III, April 2026
Volume-XIV, Issue-III, April 2026 | ||
Received: 27.04.2026 | Accepted: 29.04.2026 | |||
Published Online: 30.04.2026 | Page No: | |||
DOI: 10.64031/pratidhwanitheecho.vol.14.issue.03W. | ||||
ব্রিটিশ ভারতে প্রাণী অঙ্কন ও মুদ্রন অরুণা মণ্ডল, গবেষক, গ্রাফিক্স-প্রিন্টমেকিং ডিপার্টমেন্ট, রবীন্দ্র ভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত | |
Animal Illustration and Printing in British India Aruna Mondal, Research Scholar, Graphics-Printmaking Department, Rabindra Bharati University, West Bengal, India | |
Indian flora and fauna are diversely represented in various cultures and different schools of art. All of these are represented with their own stylistic features, and each of them is aesthetically rich. Animal illustration had a rich history during the Mughal period. After the Mughals, the British started documenting the exotic flora and fauna, though the purpose was different. Numerous artists were commissioned for the government survey. The purpose of the survey was to document and disseminate knowledge about the flora-fauna of Indian Sub-continent. Apart from these surveys, many artists were deployed in the making of the zoological illustrations. The making of these zoological illustrations was driven by several reasons for example scientific research, cataloging for museums and sometimes for individual interests. At that point of time there was a practice prevalent in Europe to have illustrators for the museums and institutions. Zoological surveys were extensively conducted to document Indian flora and fauna so that the colonial rulers get familiar with the geography, landscape, climate, wildlife, and environment of this region. For these purposes, they started documenting. This article aims to give an idea about why they started zoological documentation, who was the patrons, why they later felt the need to change the medium, etc. | |
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