New Delhi, July 10 (Inditop.com) History, violence, death and suffering have met in a theatre of colours and mediums in one of the darkest exhibitions of art the capital has ever witnessed.
The Jashn-Osianama, an exhibition at the Visual Arts Gallery at the India Habitat Centre comprising nearly 800 classical art works from the Mumbai-based Osian’s Archive and Library Collection, is a document of “500 years of violence-non violence” in Indian art.
The exhibition opened July 4 and closes July 21.
The show – almost a journey through time – begins with a spread of Buddhist art, Japanese artefacts, company paintings and ‘Pahadi’ and Rajasthan miniatures dating back to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
A canvas by Raja Ravi Varma showing the “Maharaja of Travancore and His Younger Brother welcoming Richard Grenville, the third Duke of Buckingham”, stands out for its meticulous details and documentation of the historic event. The rare painting was acquired by Osian’s at a Bonham’s auction in London a couple of years ago.
The company art section also includes a series on Tipu Sultan and his wars against the British imperial forces.
The early Raj era makes way for the great famines post Independence captured by photographer-artist Chittoprasad in stark sepia frames.
The horror of famines is followed by violence and pain – best chronicled in a series of six oil paintings by Jamini Roy titled, “Crucifixion”.
Roy, known as the “urban patua” painter of traditional Bengal style breaks away from his traditional figures to draw Christ in the Bengal terracotta tradition. Jesus looks like a Bengali deity from Bankura with red palms and stylized eyes.
F.N. Souza’s series on “Crucifixion” comprising eight oil and charcoal paintings is in contrast modern, where Christ is a ravaged man on the Cross.
“Since childhood, death has fascinated oneself,” said Nevile Tuli, the founder of Osian’s. “But we must learn to dissolve the lines and rise with new fearlessness and compassion. The exhibition is just another step in the direction.”
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Buddhist art comes out of the closet
Once considered sacred religious motifs to be kept in a sanctum meant for secret rites, ancient Buddhist art is gradually coming out of the closet to join the diverse genres of Indian heritage art.
The Hemis Museum located at 12,000 feet above sea level, 43 km southeast of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, is a treasure trove of more than 200 ancient Buddhist Thangka paintings and rare Gandhara icons.
It was thrown open to people in July 2007.
“The idea behind the museum was to let people understand Buddhism and its beautiful artistic legacy. I would like to collaborate with museums and institutions in India for exhibitions in metros,” Gyalwang Drukpa told IANS.
At a recent festival last week, the museum at the monastery drew throngs of visitors, most of whom were new to Buddhist and Gandhara art.
Art has been a part of Buddhism from its inception in the 6th century BC in India.
The art, mostly sculptures in bronze and gold and inlaid with precious stones, flourished in the ancient kingdom of Gandhara in the vale of Peshawar ruled by the Buddhist Kushan kings and travelled to India and southeast Asia along the Silk Road.
The museum at Hemis, which acquired its Gandhara artefacts from Tibet, Pakistan and Afghanistan and Central Asian countries over the centuries, boasts of icons of the goddess Tara, the Sakyamuni Buddha and his different incarnations, the wrathful deities of war and anger associated with Buddhism and the ancient lamas.
The Gandhara Buddha is intricate- with a matted head and robes falling around the feet in delicate drapes.
The Thangka paintings at the museum- some of which are nearly 1,000 years old- are vivid, delicate and detailed, etched on silks, canvases and coarse cotton cloth in golden and coloured inks. Primarily Tibetan and Chinese in origin, the Thangka scrolls depict Buddha in different forms and his journey across the sub-continent with accompanying inscriptions.
