AN EMPIRE OF IMAGES

Visual art played an important role in creating and reinforcing the legitimacy of British rule during the long 18th century. Through paintings, prints, and other images produced by both British and Indian artists, this lecture explores how India’s people, landscapes, plants, and animals became part of the way the British imagined and represented their empire. British artists tried to make sense of India and its cultures, while portraying British power as legitimate. Indian artists responded by drawing on their own artistic traditions and those introduced by the British.

Dr Apurba Chatterjee is a Visiting Fellow in History at the University of Reading. She is the author of An Empire of Images: Visual Culture and the British in India, 1688–1815 (2025).

General Admission: £5.00

Please contact the organiser if you would like to attend the lecture but are experiencing financial hardship. Or if you have any queries.