Making a Mahatma
The arrival of the technologies of mass production of the visual image (such as lithography) in India in the last quarter of the 19th century coincided with the rise of nationalist fervour and the freedom movement. The explosive spread of the visual became instrumental in the widespread mobilisation of the ideas and messages of the freedom movement.
The colonial lessons in perspective and realism had endowed the traditionally flat and idealised imagery with a more tangible and sensual presence which immediately appealed to the masses. Moreover, the advent of photography in India from the 1850s-with its power of realistic portrayal being employed by artists to provide visual identity and cult value to nationalist leaders-fuelled mass passion and zeal for independence among the general public all over India.
It was in this
