Early European images of Bengali women

Matvienko Valentin Viktorovich

The article analyzes the changes in the image of Bengali women in India in the memoirs of artists and historians of Europe from the second half of the XVIII century to the middle of the XIX century. The study examines the main classes of Bengali women who lived in the study period: Hindu and Muslim women who represented the upper class, as well as bi bi, natch (nach) and rural women. The author studies changes in the visualization of the image of research objects under the influence of such factors as colonization, reformation of Bengal, obtaining the right to school education and further emancipation of Indian women.

Keywords:India, Bengal, European artists, Bengali woman, bi bi, Sahib, image, genre.