Propaganda In British Raj
Role of orientalist painters in creating an image of subjugated people
Part 1 of the investigation of Pakistani Identity through Artworks
This is Open air restaurant Lahore, completed in 1889 by Edwin Lord Weeks an American painter.
It is a standard painting of academic art movement that began in France at the start of 19th century.
Through this painting, we will look at what images about us (the natives of India & Pakistan), an orientalist painter, showcased to the western audience…
As the title suggests, the scene depicts the everyday life in Lahore (genre-painting), set in the year … well we are not quite sure ..
The primary reaction this painting evokes is how real it feels. Notice how the painter guides our gaze, starting from the men in the foreground, going along the pathway, and leading up to the mosque. It represents the outsider’s view of Lahore, a city under British Raj.
On the first glance I notice, the recognizable backdrop of Wazir Khan Mosque. But if we spend some time with this painting we will really start to see the details; hidden and some that are missing.
The beggar is wearing a garment which blends in with the ground. A murder of crows rest near to him.
On the right, a guy is scratching back of his leg. A cobbler is busy with “dusty old shoes”. .the man behind him is sitting at another restaurant.
In the middle, the slightly bent man is holding a horse-shoe tool. The man with the red-turban, most probably a Sikh, is hidden behind the horse.
And then there are blurry figures in the background adding to the illusion of space.
The chef is preparing a sizzling dish, while the two customers wait. They guy with a white cap is gesturing, as if reciting poetry. Behind him is a customer, who is almost invisible. smoke and shadow adds mystery to the image.
The man in the black turban, a pathan, beads in his neck and a sword tucked on side, is sitting idle.
The canvas is occupied by variety of characters, each bringing a mystique to the painting. Each busy in their own world. Weeks wanted to give the characters in this painting a certain expression, he writes, the subjects “appear to be absorbed in vague speculations upon infinite” and “proceed to do nothing”.
And finally there is the backdrop. Wazir Khan mosque in a state of decline, broken window panes & fading walls. yellow,blue, green colors reflect the mellowing of the once bright awe-inspiring structure. It serves as an allegory to the demise of the society.
The kashkari and calligraphy on the wall are so accurate that it makes you wonder, how did Weeks manage to capture it. In fact, Everything in this painting seems so real, like a photograph .. yet there is something slightly off and fictional about it.
Think of it as a movie shot in the style of a documentary, like a blair witch project or paranormal activity, but here, instead of a supernatural story, these paintings were used to create & popularize negative stereotype image of the natives. The painter wants you to believe this is as close to reality as possible.
One way to explain this realism is to look at the artist’s life. He traveled to India, at least twice, staying more than 2 years, he journeyed up and down the region, making sketches, taking notes, publishing his travelogues in Harper magazine and later in a book, ‘From the Black Sea through Persia and India”.
From fellow travelers, we know how Weeks used to work. During the day, he was outdoors busy making sketches and at night he developed photographs of the architecture. In his book, we see a rough illustration of few of the characters in this painting and notes about color and light.
After this field work, Weeks traveled back to Paris, where he had his studio and put together this painting, piece by piece.
Weeks presented this painting at the 1889 Paris Exhibition, the same year Eifel tower was completed. The exhibition was held during the world expo; an event which attracted 32 Million visitors in the city.
The painting exhibition was like the Oscars of its time and Out of 7600 paintings, Weeks won the Gold medal. After this, Weeks became a celebrity both in France & America. This painting was also exhibited in Berlin and London. Why did Weeks won the gold? Was it the best painting at the exhibition? Perhaps. Or was it because of some other factors? Let’s explore…
Distinguishing himself from French orientalist who usually traveled to North Africa and middle east, Weeks choose to travel to another colonized region, pre-partion India, under the British Raj. Weeks’s style like of his teacher Leon Bonnat, was inclined towards realism.
This was a change from the first generation of orientalist painters, who painted in the style of romantics.
But years passed and the audience was more aware of the orient. New patrons of art, the Middle class, craved more realistic portrayal of the so-called orient.
In his book, Weeks, wrote about caste, clothes & customs, lavishes of local rajahs & nawabs, diversity of architecture and art.
But His writings are particularly revealing as it throws a light on his orientalist attitude; the soft tone towards colonialism and praise for the white man’s burden mentality, he praises the British raj;
“…a government which seems to have taken upon itself the heroic task of preparing these widely differing races for self-government”
It is important to mention that Edwin Weeks wasn’t an outlier, he was a part of a tradition. He was producing artworks for a market interested in eastern myths. There were artists, writers, poets, travelers, capitalists, all contributing to the orientalist body of knowledge.
Back to painting…
Now to the important details that are missing from this painting. When Edwin Weeks traveled across India, the power of British Raj was at its peak. But there is no sign of British influence on society in this painting. for that matter, any of his 90 or so paintings on India
Absence of art
Another way to explain why this painting feels so real is what Linda Nochlin calls ‘the absence of art’. Compare the academic style with other prevalent styles of the day that were competing for space. Consider this painting by van Gogh
of the same year, the brushstrokes are visible, colors are unblended & pure, and there is an emphasis on effects of light. It is, by its very nature saying ‘this is a piece of art’. On the other hand, Edwin Weeks wants the viewer to look at his paintings as a real image.
We can’t take these paintings as accurate reflection of society. But we shouldn’t reject these artworks completely, we can use these images to study how orientalist artist contributed to justify colonialism.
These depictions like of India by Weeks, were made and showcased for the western audience. It was a time before mass & social media. These images played to the curiosity of the masses in Britain, France & other European countries. These orientalist painters like Weeks presented images in a certain light and at a certain angle. These paintings reveal, not the life of colonized people but the colonial gaze.
The western style of painting had a powerful impact on the region. When this academic style was adopted by a native painter Ravi Varma, the britishers paraded him an example of ‘real indian art’.
The native thinkers & artists were not happy by this claim. So started a new chapter in Indian art movement, where different schools of thought explored the question, who are we, and what is our style, which reflects our values. Each built a link to a tradition, which was forgotten during the British rule of India. But as the independence movement gained momentum, these questions gained importance like never before. And a race to trace our native identity began.
