Modern art in Thailand1992
nineteenth and twentieth centuries
by Apinan Poshyananda
This book offers, for the first time, a comprehensive account of the development of modern art in Thailand. Its central focus is to trace the main thread of eclecticism that characterizes modern Thai art, and to show how foreign influences, as well as Buddhism, local traditions, and folk cultures served as catalysts in the development of styles.
The book opens with a view of realist painting as it was introduced into Thailand. The synthesis of Chinese and Western influences on Thai architecture, mural paintings, decorative arts, and printmaking during the second half of the nineteenth century is discussed, followed by an account of the quest for reality, as expressed in photography, portraiture, and sculpture, in the early years of the twentieth century.
Special attention is given in the...