‘A pioneer who brought out the poetry in art’-Mint Lounge
B.N. Goswamy (1933–2023), one of the most eminent art historians of our times, put India’s art on the global map. His lucid interpretation of art made the subject accessible to a wider audience. He was a master chronicler who offered ‘slight sketches of large subjects’.
Ruminations, Goswamy’s last work of, rues the vanishing traces of artisans’ guilds in Europe, celebrates the illustrations to La Fontaine’s fables produced in Lahore, opens a window to the Jain legend of Ilaputra who was driven to the edge of renunciation, explores the pioneering map of the world drawn by the Turkish admiral, Piri Reis, admires the dazzling range of embroideries in the Calico Museum, chronicles the ensigns of royalty that belong to the Mughal period, brings to light Timurid kitab-khanas, the Tibetan sand-mandalas and much more.
Lucid, comprehensive and engaging, Ruminations is a the most definitive primer on art in India and South Asia.
Review
BN Goswamy … put Indian art on the global map - ThePrint
He could convey profound ideas in prose that approached poetry in its lyricism and simplicity - Frontline
A phenomenal storyteller, [BN Goswamy] is considered the last word on miniature painting in India - The Indian Express
About the Author
B.N. Goswamy (1933-2023), distinguished art historian, was Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Panjab University, Chandigarh. His work covers a wide range and is regarded, especially in Indian painting, as having influenced much thinking. He has been the recipient of many honours, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship, the Rietberg Award for Outstanding Research in Art History, the JDR III Fellowship, the Mellon Senior Fellowship and, from the President of India, the Padma Shri (1998) and the Padma Bhushan (2008). Apart from the Panjab University, Professor Goswamy has taught, as Visiting Professor, at major universities across the world, including Heidelberg, Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, Austin and Zurich. He has been responsible for significant exhibitions of Indian art at international venues, including Paris, San Francisco, Zurich, New Delhi, San Diego and New York. He is the author of over 25 books on Indian art and culture, including: Pahari Painting: The Family as the Basis of Style(1968); Painters at the Sikh Court(
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