Inspired by India marks a nearly yearlong celebration at the Freer and Sackler Galleries now and in the coming months, entertaining and enlightening programs are offered for the entire family, including a multiday festival in october. These programs complement the exhibitions Muraqqa': Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, May 3rd–August 3rd, and Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur, which opens to the public on October 11.
ExhibitionsEvents
Online Features
Exhibitions
Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur
October 11, 2008January 4, 2009
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
This groundbreaking exhibition of newly discovered Indian paintings from the royal court collection of Marwar-Jodhpur (in the modern state of Rajasthan) has three sections devoted to the garden and cosmos leitmotifs, with an introductory gallery about the kingdom of Marwar-Jodhpur and the origins of its court painting traditions in the 17th century. Produced for the private enjoyment of the Marwar- Jodhpur maharajas, virtually none of the 60 works on view in "Garden and Cosmos" have ever been published or seen by scholars since their creation centuries ago. Strikingly innovative in their large
scale, subject matter, and styles, they reveal both the conceptual sophistication of the royal atelier and the kingdom's engagement with the changing political landscapes of early modern India.
View images from Garden and Cosmos
Events
| Save the Date: Celebration of India Donor Recognition Dinner & Auction October 16, 2008 Join us for a glittering evening inspired by Diwali, India's festival of lights. Be transported to the fragrant gardens and opulent palaces of Rajasthan as you enjoy a festive dinner and private viewing of Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur. Meet His Highness Gaj Singh II, the maharaja of Marwar-Jodhpur, whose ancestral collections are featured in the exhibition. Later in the evening, take part in our Garden and Cosmos Live Auction of fabulous India-themed luxuries. (More...) |
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| Garden and Cosmos Opening Celebration October 18 and 19, 2008 Celebrate the opening of the exhibition Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur with two days of music, dance, storytelling, food, and children's activities. The semi-desert region of Rajasthan in northern India is home to dynamic traditions of performing arts and oral history. Come experience one of India's most vibrant regional cultures. |
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Beyond Space and Time Saturday, October 25, 2008, 2:00 pm, Sackler Classroom (Second level) Saturday, November 8, 2008, 2:00 pm Saturday, November 15, 2008, 2:00 pm Saturday, November 22, 2008, 2:00 pm Saturday, December 6, 2008, 2:00 pm The exhibition Garden and Cosmos presents recently discovered paintings of classic Hindu stories and visions of the cosmic universe. In the classroom create your own miniature diorama that combines elements from these unique paintings and your vivid imagination. |
| Where the Desert Blooms Sunday, October 26, 2008, 2:00 pm, Sackler Classroom (Second level) Sunday, November 9, 2008, 2:00 pm Sunday, November 16, 2008, 2:00 pm Sunday, November 23, 2008, 2:00 pm Sunday, December 7, 2008, 2:00 pm Enjoy a classroom slide show of the palace gardens at Nagaur in India, and the use an activity book to explore the exhibition Garden and Cosmos. Discover how artists interpreted these gardens in their paintings, and then create your own miniature Nagaur palace garden to take home. |
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Garden and Cosmos: Epic Landscapes and Cosmic Mandalas Saturday, November 1, 2008, 4:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium Exhibition curator Debra Diamond discusses the historical, political, and religious contexts surrounding recently rediscovered monumental manuscripts in Jodhpur. She explores the influence of hatha yoga metaphysics and bhakti devotionalism on imagery, scale, and aesthetics, and describes how these exceptional paintings were viewed at the royal court. |
| Moving Stories, Dancing Myths Saturday, November 1, 2008, 3:00 pm, Sackler sublevel 1 Saturday, November 8, 2008, 3:00 pm, Sackler sublevel 1 Experience the magical world of the Ramayana epic with performances from the Devi Dance Theater. Young dancers recreate the lively battles between Hanuman's monkey army and the demon-king Ravana, as well as stories of the birth of Sita. Chat with the dancers to learn how these performances relate to the manuscript paintings featured in Garden and Cosmos. |
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The Secret History of Yoga Sunday, November 2, 2008, 2:00 pm, Sackler sublevel 1 Join Dr. Vijay (William) Pinch, professor of history at Wesleyan University, on an excursion through Garden and Cosmos to examine the historical practice of hatha yoga and the influence of Nath yogis on political power in nineteenth-century India. |
| The Lives of Epic Legends Saturday, November 8, 2008, 1:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium Dr. Philip Lutgendorf, professor of Hindi and modern Indian studies at the University of Iowa, discusses relationships among visual, textual, and performed versions of Indian stories, including episodes from the Hindi Ramayana of Tulsidas. He is the author of The Life of a Text: Performing the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (1991) and Hanuman’s Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey (2007). |
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| The Blossoms Rained, and There Was Light Saturday, November 15, 2008, 3:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium The Blossoms Rained, and There Was Light |
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| Four Films by Kumar Shahani Kumar Shahani, one of the most significant filmmakers working in India today, explores cultural memories embedded in classical Indian art forms, texts, and objects. His oeuvre is considered alongside that of renowned directors Pier Paolo Pasolini, Andrei Tarkovsky, Stanley Kubrick, Jacques Rivette, and others whose works are similarly entwined with the visual arts. The Freer presents four of Shahani's films in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Garden and Cosmos. Descriptions adapted from film notes by Kathryn Weir and Rachel O'Reilly for the Australian Cinematheque. The Khayal Saga The Wave The Bamboo Flute Kasba | |
Online Features
Podcasts
Sufi Music from Rajasthan: Rangeela
Travel to the fabled caravan routes of desert India with this eight-member ensemble. Their infectious rhythms spring from thirty-six generations of musicians who performed for Rajput maharajas and at temple festivals, where Muslim musicians, Hindu devotion, and rich local culture blended with invigorating results. Presented in cooperation with Folk Arts Rajasthan. Recorded live at the Freer Gallery September 18, 2005.
(1:09:16) Listen now
Online Exhibitions
Explore online interactives based on past exhibitions related to India.
The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South IndiaGallery Guide: Understanding South Asian Art
Devi: The Great Goddess
Puja: Expressions of Hindu Devotion
