Genesis of portraits in Indian art traced - The Times of India
PATNA: Delivering a lecture on `Historical Portraits in Indian Art at the Khuda Bakhsh Library on Saturday, art historian and Tagore National Fellow S P Verma traced the genesis of portraits in Indian art to the 4th century AD and highlighted the contribution made by the Mughal emperors in this regard.
He stated that emperors Akbar and Jahangir got their portraits and also those of their nobles and officials prepared on a largescale. The Mughal painters, by striking a synthesis between Indian, Iranian and European traditions, raised the level of portraiture to an extraordinary finesse.
Many of these portraits, incidentally, are preserved at the Library. Verma said that they generally belong to the 18th century and represent a phase of stagnation. Nevertheless, they constitute an important source: Material for reconstructing the history of the Mughal empire. A slide-show of important portraits further enriched the lecture.
Former VC of Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic & Persian University Qamar Ahsan presided while Library director Imtiaz Ahmad welcomed the guests and introduced Verma who has seven books and scores of articles published in the country and abroad. He also has been assigned the responsibility of preparing a descriptive catalogue of the illustrated manuscripts at the Library.
Read more: Genesis of portraits in Indian art traced - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Genesis-of-portraits-in-Indian-art-traced/articleshow/7387247.cms#ixzz1Cd6SGv3r
He stated that emperors Akbar and Jahangir got their portraits and also those of their nobles and officials prepared on a largescale. The Mughal painters, by striking a synthesis between Indian, Iranian and European traditions, raised the level of portraiture to an extraordinary finesse.
Many of these portraits, incidentally, are preserved at the Library. Verma said that they generally belong to the 18th century and represent a phase of stagnation. Nevertheless, they constitute an important source: Material for reconstructing the history of the Mughal empire. A slide-show of important portraits further enriched the lecture.
Former VC of Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic & Persian University Qamar Ahsan presided while Library director Imtiaz Ahmad welcomed the guests and introduced Verma who has seven books and scores of articles published in the country and abroad. He also has been assigned the responsibility of preparing a descriptive catalogue of the illustrated manuscripts at the Library.
Read more: Genesis of portraits in Indian art traced - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Genesis-of-portraits-in-Indian-art-traced/articleshow/7387247.cms#ixzz1Cd6SGv3r
