George Stubbs
Cheetah and Stag with Two Indians 1760–1770
Manchester Art Gallery
‘Artist and Empire’ at Tate Britain Tate Britain presents a unique exhibition about Imperial visual culture which shows art from across the British Isles, North America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia and Africa. 25 November 2015 – 10 April 2016.]]>
Source: Tate Britain
In 21st century Britain, ‘Empire’ is a highly provocative term. Its histories of war, conquest and slavery can be difficult to address but its legacy is everywhere. “Artist and Empire” examines the people who helped to create, promote or confront the British Empire in their work, bringing together around 200 extraordinary paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and artefacts. The exhibition reveals how the meanings of these objects have changed through history, and asks what they mean to us today.
Drawn from major public and private collections across Britain, the exhibition investigates the different routes by which works of art were created and collected. For the first time, historic paintings by such artists as George Stubbs, Anthony Van Dyck, Johan Zoffany, Lady Butler and Thomas Daniell are shown with works including Indian miniatures and Maori artefacts, offering critical insight into how each was made, collected and categorised. The encounters between cultures are also explored, from the East India Company’s patronage of Mughal painting during a period of cultural assimilation, through to the long disregard of Aboriginal art which went hand-in-hand with the denigration of indigenous Australian cultures.
“Artist and Empire” demonstrates how in the 20th century artists around the world challenged Imperial ideology, and how contemporary artists like Sonia Boyce and Judy Watson reflect on these histories today. National art movements in places such as Bengal and Nigeria accompanied growing demands for independence, as reflected in the work of Jamini Roy and Uzo Egonu. Contemporary British artists, including Hew Locke and Andrew Gilbert, offer fresh interpretations of colonial imagery and confront the problematic legacies of Empire in the present day.
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