Intimate Worlds - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8185822859 ISBN 13: 9788185822853

Publisher: MAPIN PUBLISHING

One of the world's finest private collections of Indian 'miniature' paintings, a promised bequest to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is represented by some 90 works of art created in workshops across India over the course of four centuries. The paintings, all reproduced in full color and accompanied by a detailed scholarly examination, span the period from before the rise of Islamic Mughal rule in northern India during the 1500s to the heyday of the British Raj in the late 19th century. The 'intimate worlds' evoked by these images vividly illustrate Hindu, Muslim, and Jain religious stories; offer visions of life at court; and explore the pleasures and pains of love.

Essays include a statement from the collector and an introductory history of courtly painting on the Indian subcontinent, as well as discussions of the history of the collecting of Indian art, hierarchies of taste, and the relationship between artists and patrons.

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About the Author:

Darielle Mason is the Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian andHimalayan Art and Head of the Department of South Asian Art at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art, and Adjunct Professor of the History of Artat the University of Pennsylvania.

Review:

Intimate Worlds is a beautifully produced book, with scholarly essays by recognised authorities whichconstitute a history of taste in the subcontinent, a hitherto neglectedarea of art studies.The essay-length catalogue descriptions are exhaustive. Historicalcontexts are examined, legends retold, comparisons suggested with otherpaintings, and citations meticulously provided. Each contributor haslaboured with evident love of the subject, and paid a fitting tribute to a fine collection.
The Hindu, 2003

Almost overnight, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has become the proudpossessor of the fourth largest collection of Indian minatures in thewest. The 90 paintings and drawings, on view in a show called "IntimateWorlds," come from the Alvin O. Bellak Collection. Since he began collecting in the 1970s, Dr. Bellak has acquired primeexamples of all the Indian schools, from Mughal paintings of the early1500s to the works originating with the British Raj of the 19th century.

"Intimate Worlds" presents the never-never world of the Maharajahs ofnorthern India. We see them in their palaces, or astride theirbeautifully caparisoned horses, hunting wild animals. Among the most striking examples of "miniature" art are the rapturouslove scenes between Krishna and Radha from a dispersed series of the Gita Govinda, the Song of the Dark Lord (a sort of Song of Songs). Other striking examples are from the Ramayana Book of Kings and the Bhagavata Purana, which recounts the deeds of Krishna.
In terms of color and elegance of execution, these miniatures rival even the illustrated manuscripts of the Morgan Library.
Artnet Magazine,

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