Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure

This sweeping survey of the artistic achievements of Himalayan culture is the first major exhibition to include objects from all the major religions of the region. Created to accompany the landmark art exhibition that will include almost two hundred of the finest works of art created between the sixth and nineteenth centuries in India, Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, this book explores the particular beauty that evolved from the spiritual traditions unique to the Himalayas. Lavishly illustrated with many rarely seen images, Himalayas conveys the spiritual aspirations of those who defied the physical hardships of an arduous mountain terrain to express their soaring creative spirit. Currently held in private and public collections in North America and Europe, seventy percent of this art has never been published or publicly exhibited. The works include temple sculptures of stone and wood; works in terracotta; cast bronzes with inlaid gemstones, gilding, and paint; colorful paintings—from reverential portraits to depictions of awe-inspiring deities—on cloth, palm leaf, paper, and wood; and ritual objects in various media. Pratapaditya Pal provides a fascinating description of the cultural milieu in which these works of art were created. Copublished with the Art Institute of Chicago

Arts & Photography

Amy Heller

Gautama V. Vajracharya

Pratapaditya-Pal.

History & Criticism

University of California Press

Introducing a rich historical and religious context, Gautama V. Vajracharya offers an original, nuanced study of the iconography of Indian miniature paintings. Providing an extended analysis of 129 art works catalogued in this book, he explicates the gradual development and interrelationship of two styles of Indic miniature painting from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries: one commissioned by the Muslim Mughal rulers and the other by Hindu Rajput princes. He shows that belief systems reflected in ancient Indian art continued to be expressed, whether consciously or not, in later Indian miniature paintings and in other artistic forms well into the nineteenth century. Distributed for the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Watson Collection of Indian Miniatures at the Elvehjem Museum of Art (Elvehjem Museum of Art Catalogs)

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

University of Wisconsin Press

Monsoon is a local phenomenon of the South Asian subcontinent and does not extend to the other sides of the Himalayas. The Kathmandu Valley, the center of Nepalese art and culture, is located on the southern slope of the Himalayas. Just as in the other part of South Asia, agriculture is dependednt mainly on monsoon rain (June - August or July - September). Monsoon rain is, however, unpredictable. Many times, the failure of seasonal rains has created devastating famine. Throughout history, people endeavored to solve the problem many different ways. Vedic people, just like the Newars of the valley, worshipped the frogs, assuming that the croaking sound of the frogs brings rain. Astrologers predicted the rain with their observation of the appearance of aquatic creatures in the cloudspace. Artists created auspicious rain symbols believing that the sight of the symbols affects nature and human life, all of which demonstrate the relationship of art to the rainy season and the festivals and rituals structured around it. This book, written for the Rubin Museum by renowned scholar Gautama V. Vajracharya, explores the relationships of the well-known deities, their festivals and rituals that are believed to affect nature and ensure the arrival of timely monsoon. The festivals and rituals also celebrate a successful harvest, preserve the continuity of their life sustaining cycles, and support the worship of the deities to guarantee well-being and personal development of the worshipers.

NEPALESE SEASONS : RAIN & RITUAL

Rubin Museum of Art

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Books by Gautama V. Vajracharya