Essence Of Indian Art

An exploration of the timeless beauty of Indian design through 200 classic objects. The Indian subcontinent is an amalgamation of peoples, cultures, languages and philosophies. Throughout history Indian culture has been subject to myriad different influences, from the Mughal empire to the British Raj to the now globalized nation in transition. Similar to 'Wa: Essence of Japanese Design', this book will trace continuity through the history of Indian design from antiquity to the present day. The book explores the elements that make Indian design so special, including the varied manufacturing and decorating techniques of the country’s incredibly skilled craftsmen, highly specialized object designs that have been refined over centuries, and ongoing responses to nature, technology, and necessity. The objects were chosen for their enduring quality and beauty, and their integral connection to Indian culture. Rather than following a chronological order or concentrating on the (often anonymous) designers, this book separates the objects into abstract categories anchored by Hindi words chosen to illuminate how each object fits into the lives of Indians.

“Wonderful . . . A book to make both layman and connoisseur alike realize why pre-modern Indian painting is one of the great arts of the world.” —Neil MacGregor Through close encounters with over a hundred carefully selected works, spanning nearly a thousand years, and ranging from Jain manuscripts and Pahari and Mughal miniatures to Company School paintings, B. N. Goswamy unlocks the many treasures that lie within Indian painting. In an illuminating introduction, and as Goswamy relates the stories behind each work and deciphers the visual vocabulary and language of the painters, he brings to life the cultural, social, and political milieu in which they were created. Lavishly illustrated, and combining erudition with great storytelling, The Spirit of Indian Painting reveals the beauty of this richly varied body of work in a new and brilliant light.

Bringing together the most significant papers on the interpretation of objects and collections, this volume examines how people relate to material culture and why they collect things.

This volume brings together a remarkably rich body of material taken from original, primary sources on Indian art that aims to bring the arts and their context within the reach of the reader. Texts and commentaries drawn from over two thousand years of Indian art history, comment and shed light on various aspects of art: the inter-relationship between various forms of arts, practitioner's records of measurements of time and space, rules and practices laid down by the iconographers, records by artists of their experiences, excerpts from memoirs and contemporary histories, and the work of early writers on the arts.

A fascinating study of how Indian culture, which is still a living factor in the life of nearly one-seventh of the human race, arose nearly five thousand years ago, how it developed and was enriched in subsequent centuries, and finally, how it has come down to us as a rich human legacy. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India.

Filling a distinct gap in Indian scholarship, this original account presents a critical re-examination of the key Indian concepts of painting as described in the Sanskrit treatises. Drawing on the experiences of significant painters, Nardi suggests a new way of reading and understanding these concepts.