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Title:
Volume 08 - Issue 1
Date:
1954
Table of contents:
- p. 2-5: Anand, Mulk Raj, The Place of Christian Art in India [Editorial] | Christianity took early root in south India, followed by its first imposition by the Portuguese on the Coromandel coast, and the preaching of St. Francis Xavier in Goa. Churches were built, and gradually a synthesis developed between the Christian tradition of the West and the Indian creative imagination. As is the tradition of Hindu art, Christian art in India is founded upon belief, and is as much a part of India's past.
- p. 5-12: Pereira, Jose, The Significance and Originality of Goan Art | The writer, who has contributed significantly to this special issue of Marg on the architecture and art of Goa, introduces Christian art in Goa and evaluates the ideas behind this art. He connects Goan art with Greco-Latin art, and divides it into three periods. In the first period of architectural excellence, elements of the Goan church developed, resulting in a perfect plan of the church for the Latin rite. The paintings were either imitative of the Renaissance masters, or expressed the beginnings of the liturgical mentality. The sculptures were mostly decorative. The second period of poetic and musical achievement is expressed in songs like the mando, and Arnaldo's Adolfinian Trilogy is perhaps the zenith of Goan poetry. The third period of fulfilment in the visual arts (especially painting) is well expressed in the paintings of Francisco Newton Souza and the growth of the school produced by Modern Latinity.
- p. 12-13: Menezes, Aires, Portfolio: Thematic Symbols of the Main Emotional Trends in Goan Art | The illustrations -- Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Ecce Homo, Church of Margao, and Christ in the tomb -- are from the Santas Almas Cathedral of Goa, and the churches at Panjim, Margao, and Curtorim.
- p. 13-25: Chico, Mario Tavares, Aspects of the Religious Art in Portuguese India: Architecture and Gilt Woodwork | The religious architecture of Goa, Daman, and Diu between the 16th and 18th centuries of Portuguese occupation is divided into three periods. The first period, mainly of individual initiative, introduces the forms of the Portuguese Gothic and the Renaissance. The buildings of this period are the portal of San Francisco de Assis and the monument of Nossa Senhora do Rosario (1543). The second period (1550-1700) produced art conditioned by the religious polity of the Counter-Reformation, and the programmes of the Jesuit architects. The monuments of this period -- the Cathedrals of Goa and Portalegre, Church of the College of the Jesuits at Diu, and Santa Maria de Belem -- either maintain a pure classicism in the triangular pediments and unbroken cornice friezes, or have a facade accentuatedly Mannerist with certain Baroque elements. The third period (18th century) is marked by a greater freedom, and room for inter-religious influence, as evident in the architecture in Bardez, Salcete, and Ponda.
- p. 26-31: Couto, Albano Francisco, Some Contemporary Painters of Goa: Two Goan Artists -- Souza, Pereira | Profiles of Souza, Pereira, Laxman Pai, and Gaitonde, with examples of their work.
- p. 36-43: De Andrade, Jorge, Goan Minor Arts: Goan Furniture, its Title to Recognition | The four evolutionary stages of Goan furniture are: pre-Portuguese; Indo-Portuguese; 17th and 18th centuries; and 19th century and after. In the first period, it is surmised that inlay and lacquer work of well-carveddecorated chests and bahuts must have been popular. In the second period, lacquer-painted work was extended to new articles like chairs, tables, bedsteads, and cupboards. This period also produced "immovable" furniture like altars, pulpits, and episcopal and choir seats. Intercourse between Portuguese and Indian artists throughout the 16th century led to the spread of technical knowledge. The 17th and 18th centuries -- particularly the latter -- constitute the golden age of Goan furniture, characterized by a refinement of taste in adapting western models, and a gradual decadence of Portuguese taste which was compensated by an increasing influence of French styles. A critical study of the furniture of the period -- including chairs, stools, chests, bahuts, beds, and tables -- shows the rich, varied, and abundant output. In the 19th century, which saw radical changes in social structure, quality was sacrificed to quantity. With the influence of a "Modern Style" in the latter half of the century, a taste for English styles developed in Goa, while the Indo-Portuguese style found wide acceptance outside Goa. The chairs continue to show the greatest variety of design. The most valuable pieces of the period show the last vestiges of the Adam and Hepplewhite periods, and (later) a tendency towards the Sheraton style.
- p. 44-47: Lobo, Estanislau, Goan Minor Arts: Cloth and Gold | Both secular and religious Goan textiles show a vivid contrast of colours, reproduced in gold leaf and thread on satin, silk, and velvet. This is evident in the pieces for religious use illustrated here. Although the Renaissance and Persian miniatures influenced Goan art, the dominating influence was the environment of Golden Goa. This is also visible on the caskets, coffers, chalices, and boxes illustrated.
- p. 48-49: Goan Minor Arts: Indo-Portuguese Ivories | Ten ivory statuettes of the Virgin, Our Lady of Piedade, Our Lady of the Sea, Our Lady of the Rosary, St Anne and the Blessed Virgin, Madonna and Child, and St Rose of Lima are illustrated.
- p. 50-52: Menezes, Aires, Some Impressions of the Cunbi Dance | The writer, and the illustrators Gobhai and Warrier, record their impressions of the costume, format, and rhythmic earthy vitality of the Cunbi dance which is performed at the Goan Carnival.
- p. 53-55: Rodrigues, Lucio, The Love Song of Goa | The mando is the most famous of Goan songs, and is described as a biography of the Goan heart, with sociological implications. It is a blend of poetry and music. The poetry is in rich Konkani, with a well-defined structure and inspired by nature. The melody is characterized by the use of the minor mode and divided into three sections. It is sung on all joyous occasions. The instruments played are the violin and gumott (drum). As a dance, the mando has the stateliness and leisureliness of a social ritual.
- p. 56-58: Barreto, Floriano, The Mando Dance | Written in the early years of this century, this is a dramatic description of the movements, beat, song, and music characterizing the dance as performed in Margao. The footnotes to the article point out how it deviates from mando as danced in the classical centres, Curtorim and Loutolim.
- p. 59-61: Lobo, Antsher, The History and Evolution of Goan Music | Goan music, from the beginning of the 16th century, went through successive stages of development as did music in Europe -- choral music, secular music, and instrumental music. However, it retained a regional character, bearing at the same time distinctive traces of early Italian church music. The Goan musician contributed to musical activity in greater India and neighbouring countries. Today, Goan musicians constitute an important element of orchestral and choral societies in cosmopolitan Bombay. The task of building a solid structure of Goan music was undertaken by the Goan Folksong and Choral Society, a pioneer musical institution of its kind, founded in Bombay in May 1941. Various sources of folk music can be, and were, used for conversion into art music.
- p. 62-63: Martins, Micael, The Mando: A Note on Some of its Musical Characteristics | This representative "song dance" of the Goans is composed in six-beat rhythm, with three stanzas, and is sung in two contrapuntal voices. Goan composers made use of quarter tones and microtones. The mando has been a vehicle of artistic and emotional expression for Goan composers.
- p. 64-89: Pereira, Jose, Martins, Micael, Representative Examples of the Classical Vocal Music of Goa | The poetical and musical texts and translations of the mandos, hymns, and antiphons are supplemented by extensive end-notes.