Through the eyes of an artist: consumption ethos and commercial art in Bengal
Purpose Through a critical reading of a twentieth-century Bengali artist’s autobiography, this paper aims to attempt to demonstrate how commercial art and the consumption ethos symbolized by that art represented an archetypal bhadralok insignia. A close examination of this insignia reveals how the dynamics of modern liberal values mediating through the colonial capitalist structure in relation to the regional particularities of Bengal opened up a new space of cosmopolitanism, where there is an attempt to reframe cultural practices in the light of a broader global history of interrogation, reason, change and emancipation. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a historical analysis of primary sources. Findings It was found that the bhadralok-led Bengal School of Art influenced commercial art of early postcolonial Bengal. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the region of Bengal. Originality/value This paper makes contributions to one of the less-researched, but very important areas, of business history in India.