Professor B.N. Goswamy, all too well known to our audiences, is Professor Emeritus of art history at the Panjab University and a world-renowned authority on Indian painting. He has written and lectured extensively, and been a guest curator of major exhibitions of Indian art all over the world, most recently of the path-breaking exhibition Masters of Indian Painting at the Museum Rietberg, Zürich, and at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. He has also been visiting professor at the universities of Heidelberg, Pennsylvania, California (Berkeley and Los Angeles), Texas (Austin) and Zürich. Prof. Goswamy's many publications include Essence of Indian Art, Wonders of a Golden Age, Pahari Masters, Domains of Wonder and Nainsukh of Guler. His work has been especially influential in the area of Pahari painting. His awards and honours include the Padma Bhushan, conferred in 2008.
The Spirit of Indian Painting Close Encounters with 101 Great Works 1100-1900 Penguin, 2014 In this magnificent, lavishly illustrated book, Professor Goswamy opens readers' eyes to the wonders of Indian painting, and shows them new ways of seeing art. An illuminating introductory essay, 'A Layered World', explains the themes and emotions that inspired Indian painters, the values and influences that shaped their work, and the unique ways in which they depicted Time and Space. It describes, too, the different regional styles, the relationship between patrons and painters, the tools and techniques the painters used and the milieu in which they created their works. The second part of this book,'Close Encounters with 101 Great Works', presents paintings carefully selected by Prof. Goswamy, spanning nearly a thousand years and ranging from Jain manuscripts and Rajasthani, Mughal, Pahari and Deccani miniatures, to Company School paintings. His description and analysis of these works unlock the treasures that lie within them and show us how to 'read' each painting, as he points out its finest features, explains its visual vocabulary and symbolism, and recounts the story, legend or event that inspired it.
Combining deep scholarship with great storytelling, this is a book of enduring value that will both educate and delight the reader. It is destined to become a classic.