Painters in South Asia centered sensory experience, enchanting emotions, and cultural landscapes in their works by creating large, immersive paintings that depicted places, mapped terrains, and triggered memories. This exhibition explores how painters fostered political and personal attachments to land by examining social networks, ecological relations, and pleasurable pursuits, and by drawing upon previously untranslated sources and engaging with the history of the senses.

Format: Hardback
Length: 395 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2022
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag

A Splendid Land is a groundbreaking exhibition that delves into the captivating world of South Asian painters and their profound focus on sensory experience, enchanting emotions, and cultural landscapes. Spanning a remarkable two hundred years, from the Mughal era to the colonial period, this exhibition presents a collection of stunning paintings that have never been published or exhibited in the United States. The journey begins around 1700, when artists in Udaipur, India, embarked on a remarkable artistic endeavor. They began creating large and immersive paintings, meticulously capturing the essence of the city's palaces, lakes, and mountains. These paintings, known as "mughal paintings," were not just mere depictions of physical landscapes; they were vehicles for conveying the mood and spirit (bhava) of these places. A Splendid Land explores the profound ways in which painters depicted places, mapped terrains, and triggered memories to foster political and personal attachments to land. By examining social networks, ecological relations, and pleasurable pursuits, the exhibition sheds light on the intricate connections between people and their surroundings. Moreover, A Splendid Land employs a multidisciplinary approach, drawing upon previously untranslated sources and engaging with the history of the senses. By doing so, it opens up early modern art history to new interpretative possibilities and offers a fresh perspective on the artistic practices of South Asia.

Weight: 2360g
Dimension: 292 x 254 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783777439440