William Robinson
Magic in Miniature
The Spirit of Indian Painting: Close Encounters with 101 Great Works 1100–1900
By B N Goswamy
Thames & Hudson 570pp £29.95
B N Goswamy is an excellent and lively writer who combines considerable erudition with an ability to spin stories. The Spirit of Indian Painting, reminiscent of Neil MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects, presents 101 pictures produced in the Indian subcontinent over almost a millennium, introducing us to what he calls a ‘multi-layered world’. Most Indian paintings from this period are small and usually referred to as miniatures. Indeed, miniatures were the main form of pictorial art for much of India’s history. In the West we tend to worship oil paintings over other forms of art, but that is not a part of Indian tradition.
The book opens with a long introduction that discusses the history of Indian miniature painting, the paucity of written sources, depictions of time and space, attitudes towards portraits, the relationship between artists and patrons, and the lives and techniques of Goswamy’s chosen painters. The most interesting section concerns the Indian
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
London's East End was long synonymous with poverty and sweatshops, while its West End was associated with glamour and high society. But when it came to the fashion industry, were the differences really so profound?
Sharman Kadish - Winkle-pickers & Bum Freezers
Sharman Kadish: Winkle-pickers & Bum Freezers - Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style; Fashion City: ...
literaryreview.co.uk
In 1982, Donald Rumsfeld presented Saddam Hussein with a pair of golden spurs. Two decades later he was dropping bunker-busting bombs on his palaces.
Where did the US-Iraqi relationship go wrong?
Rory Mccarthy - The Case of the Vanishing Missiles
Rory Mccarthy: The Case of the Vanishing Missiles - The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the United States and the ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Barbara Comyns was a dog breeder, a house painter, a piano restorer, a landlady... And a novelist.
@nclarke14 on the lengths 20th-century women writers had to go to make ends meet:
Norma Clarke - Her Family & Other Animals
Norma Clarke: Her Family & Other Animals - Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence by Avril Horner
literaryreview.co.uk