‘Indo-Saracenic Style’ in Madras Architecture – European and ‘Indian’

This research is the first attempt to create a comprehensive analysis of “indo-saracenic” style of architecture in the territory of Madras during the British Raj. The main objective of this work is to construct an art history survey of “indo-saracenic” style of the third in its political significance after Bombay and Calcutta capital of the colonial presidency and to identify its specifics. Using formal analysis, comparative historical method and social art history, appointed tasks such as selection and formal examination of the architectural objects, search for architectural analogues and structures in the Indian subcontinent and abroad, identification of the common features indicating the relation of the monument to the style and survey of the degree of influence of the historical and institutional situation on “indo-saracenic” architecture were completed. Madras is the cradle of “indo-saracenic” style in the British Raj. That is why the study of architectural monuments of Madras made it possible to form a definition of the style itself, not only placing the architecture of the city into the context of the Indian colonial architecture, but also creating a number of perspectives for the research of "indo-saracenic" architecture in the whole subcontinent.