New book overviews 300 years of Indian botanical art


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 15-09-2021 19:33 IST | Created: 15-09-2021 19:33 IST
New book overviews 300 years of Indian botanical art
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Drawing on the vast original works held in the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK), a new book brings together botanical art of Indian origin spanning a period of 300 years.

Published by Roli Books, ''Indian Botanical Art: An Illustrated History'', is authored by British botanist-author Martyn Rix.

Focussing on the 18th and 19th centuries, it showcases the richness and variety of art commissioned from ''talented, mostly unknown, Indian artists who made a substantial contribution to the documentation of the flora of the Indian subcontinent''.

''When Joseph Hooker ( noted British botanist and explorer) visited India around 1850, he met many of the East India Company botanists and admired the skill of their artists and the beauty of their collection of paintings. This led him to accumulate his own collection and add to it whenever he could, thus contributing to the great collection of paintings that are now preserved at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,'' wrote Rix in the preface of the book.

''Hooker's collection .. and acquisitions from other private sources, mean that Kew's collection is unrivalled in scope. Examples from the collection, which has remained almost unseen until now, form the basis of the book,'' he added.

Founded in 1840, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London is a thriving research centre for botanical science with one of the largest collections of plants and fungi, both living and dried, in the world.

Besides the stunning Indian botanical art from the Kew Gardens archives, the book also includes works from a new generation of botanical artists in India, including the likes of Hemlata Pradhan, Nirupa Rao and Jaggu Prasad.

''In recent years there has been a renaissance of botanical painting throughout India, with artists such as Hemlata Pradhan in Kalimpong, Nirupa Rao in Bangalore and Jaggu Prasad in Rajasthan, exhibiting around the world, and teaching botanical painting to a new generation, who are influenced by both Indian traditions and the modern European flower painting. Their work here demonstrates how the traditions begun in the 18th century continue to excite interest even today,'' writes Rix in the book.

His previously authored books include ''The Golden Age of Botanical Art'' (2012) and ''Treasures of Botanical Art: Icons from the Shirley Sherwood and Kew Collections'' (2009).

''Indian Botanical Art: An Illustrated History'' is presently available for sale on online and offline stores.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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