How mechanical printing transformed Hindu devotional art in 19th-century colonial Calcutta
In short: This lecture examines the rise of chromolithographic religious prints in colonial India. Discover how 19th-century artisans used new mechanical reproduction technologies to make Hindu deities accessible and affordable, creating a visual language that defined the devotional landscape of the 20th century.
In the cosmopolitan capital of 19th-century Calcutta, artists and artisans began adapting mechanical reproduction techniques to create religious imagery. This innovation birthed the chromolithographic print, a genre that allowed Hindu gods to be rendered in a way that was both affordable and widely accessible to the public.
Presented by Richard H. Davis, a Research Professor of Religion at Bard College, this lecture contextualizes the emergence of these prints alongside the exhibition Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860–1930. These works eventually evolved into a pervasive visual language that became ubiquitous across India throughout the 20th century.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Annual Distinguished Lecture: Gods at the Gate of Modernity—Religious Arts in Colonial Calcutta
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