Do you ever feel like you cannot fully appreciate a piece of art, because you simply do not have the know-how? Asia Society Switzerland invites you to a lecture where Professor Goswamy, one of India’s most eminent art historians, will reveal what he sees in Indian miniature paintings and teach you about different perspectives on an art work.
Indian paintings do not always draw immediate attention to themselves, for they speak generally in a gentle voice. But there can be much delight in regarding them at close range, for they are layered objects. Like a couplet in Persian, or a doha in Hindi, they can be terse but meaningful; like a great floral carpet that lies rolled up, they can be spread out endlessly, revealing new things with each mellow unfurling.

About the speaker:
B. N. Goswamy, leading art historian of India, is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Panjab University, Chandigarh. His work covers a wide range and has significantly influenced thinking on Indian painting. Recipient of several national and international honours, he is the author of more than twenty-five books, and has been Visiting Professor at several Universities across the world, including the Zurich University, and the ETH at Zurich.

This event is kindly supported by The Bombay Paperie, dedicated to the revival of papermaking by hand in India. Paper from this mill was used in the 17th century for the creation of miniature paintings.