Global Kitabkhana (Chanchal Dadlani)

The eighteenth century witnessed the circulation of images, ideas, and individuals throughout and beyond Mughal South Asia. Although art histories of encounter have emphasized the British presence in South Asia, there was, in the late 1700s, a period of crucial exchange between Indian and French artists, scholars, patrons, and collectors. This talk explores these connections by focusing on the Gentil Album (Faizabad, India, 1774). The talk will raise fundamental questions about the relationship between art and globalization, the nature of artistic collaboration, and the role of the visual in the construction of historical narratives.