Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900 - Hardcover

Guy, John; Britschgi, Jorrit

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300175825 ISBN 13: 9780300175820

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011

Synopsis

This vividly illustrated publication features 110 works by many of the most eminent painters in the history of Indian art. These remarkable paintings, dating from 1100 to 1900, were selected according to identifiable artists, and they refute the long-held view of anonymous authorship in Indian art.

Traditionally, Indian paintings have been classified by regional styles or dynastic periods, with an emphasis on subject matter. Stressing the combined tools of connoisseurship and inscriptional evidence, the pioneering research reflected in this book has identified individual artists and their oeuvres through the analysis of style.

The introductory essay outlines the origins of early Indian painting of the first millennium, which set the scene for the development of the art of the book. The sections that follow examine manuscript painting as it evolved from palm-leaf to paper, the emergence of traditional painting as an independent art form, and its demise with the coming of photography. Biographies of the artists whose works appear in this volume and a glossary of their major literary sources provide valuable context.

About this title

About the Author:

John Guy is Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of the Arts of South and Southeast Asian Art, Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jorrit Britschgi is Curator of Indian Painting, Museum Rietberg Zürich.

Review:

“A work of consummate scholarship.” —Library Journal (Library Journal)

“This volume splendidly explores 800 years of Indian painting.”—Publishers Weekly (Publsihers Weekly)

About this edition

• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0300175825
• ISBN 13: 9780300175820
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224