‘Gods and Lovers’ exhibit at Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota opens a portal on Indian art
While Indian art has a deep-seated history, it is not very often in America that you get to see an exhibition dedicated to ancient Indian art. But if you are in and around Florida during the holiday season you may get a chance to glimpse into some of the rare Indian art works dating back to the 4th and 5th century.
‘Gods and Lovers: Paintings and Sculptures from India,’ exhibition which opened on Nov 12 will be on display at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida until May 28.
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The rare exhibit will be showcasing a total of 26 objects of art from India. There are about 18 paintings that have been taken from the private collections as well as Ringling’s own collection. On display are also sculptures dating back to ancient times.
What is especially interesting for art aficionados is to see under one roof half a dozen Hindu and Jain sculptures dasting back to as early as 4th and 5th century.
Also, on display are some sculptures belonging to the 14th century. The sculptures are either carved on stone or are cast in metal. These are part of the artworks collected by the Ringling family during the 1920’s.
The paintings too represent a great testimony to the rich history of art in India as they are from artists who were affiliated to the royal courts of India.
The art works also provide a holistic display of art sourced from various regions of India including northern, central and western India dating back to the 16th and 19th century.
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As curators and art critics know about Indian art that often depict cultural, religious or socio-political tales from the era, these paintings too are drawn heavily from Hindu scriptures and literature. They also through the medium of art tell tales of music and culture in the ancient courts.
Themes such as divinity, love, splendor form the hallmarks of these artworks. Some of the artworks on display are also on smaller formats which were created as leaves of books or albums for the patrons.