Ilustrando Nepāl en el siglo XIX. El dibujo de Raj Man Singh Chitrakar

During the 19th and 20th centuries, when the Himalayas’ political frontiers were closed to foreign interference, the few European scientists fortunate enough to venture into the valley of Nepāl usually did so along with a group of Indian or Nepalese citrakār artists. They contributed to the developm...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: de la Rubia Gómez-Moran, Andrea
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Repositorio:BURJC-Digital. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
OAI Identifier:oai:burjcdigital.urjc.es:10115/42213
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10115/42213
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Nepal
Ilustración
Dibujo
Cooperación científica
Historia de la ciencia
Etnografía
Souvenir
Descripción
Sumario:During the 19th and 20th centuries, when the Himalayas’ political frontiers were closed to foreign interference, the few European scientists fortunate enough to venture into the valley of Nepāl usually did so along with a group of Indian or Nepalese citrakār artists. They contributed to the development of scientific knowledge of the flora, fauna and cultures of the Himalayas, thanks to their extraordinary drawing skills. The following article focuses on the figure of the British, naturalist and ethnologist, Brian Houghton Hodgson, concerning his studies on Himalayan biology and the newār Buddhist culture. In order to do so, it analyses the graphic work of the artist who accompanied him, Raj Man Singh Chitrakar, the first Nepali illustrator openly recognized for having been specialized in the western technique. Although the aim of these illustrations was merely scientific at an initial stage, it is concluded that this trend would constitute a first step towards the representation of the nepaliness, or the country’s national culture. The foreign visitor and his idea of Nepal, as an exotic and oriental country, introduce a new pattern of Nepalese contemporary art as a souvenir.