New York: One of the world’s largest and finest art museums will display various Hindu deities in its “Divine Pleasures” exhibition scheduled for September.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (MET) claims that it will exhibit from June 14 to September 12 nearly 100 master paintings, created mainly between the 16th and the early 19th century for the royal courts of Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills in northern India.
They were created to “move the soul and delight the eye” and the “power and magic of the images transcends the subjects they portray.”.
Exhibits include Rama and Sita where a thorn is removed from Rama’s foot, Krishna and the milkmaids (gopi) take shelter from rain, Shiva and Parvati playing chaupar, Krishna holding Mount Goverdhan, King Dasratha proceeding to Rama’s wedding, Rama pardoning two demon spies, Devi Bhadrakali adored by the gods, Rama-Sita-Lakshmana at the hermitage of Bharadvaja, milkmaids pleading to Krishna, Devi Bhairavi with Shiva, death of King Dasratha, Sage Durvasa helps the gopis quiet the Yamuna River, Krishna and Radha.
Painted on paper in opaque watercolor and ink, they are often heightened with gold and silver, MET informs. Organized by MET’s Navina Haidar and Courtney Stewart, many of the paintings to be shown have reportedly never before been exhibited publicly.
Commending MET for showcasing Hindu deities through paintings, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada June 10, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged other major art museums of the world to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
MET was founded 1870 “to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.” It has collected more than 2 million works of art spanning 5,000 years of world culture. They date from prehistory to the present and come from every part of the globe.
It has the largest assemblage of musical instruments outside Europe and its Costume Institute’s collection is more than 35,000. It also undertakes traveling exhibitions, conservation and excavations.