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Art Study Center Seminar: Capturing Myriad Moods of Love in Indian Painting and Dance

A painted scene set by a river and trees, with a blue-skinned figure kneeling to put an anklet on the foot of a woman.
After a Night of Lovemaking, Radha Asks Krishna to Place Jeweled Anklets on Her Feet (detail), from a folio illustrating canto XII, verse 25 of Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, c. 1775–80. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Suzanne and Frederic Weinstein in memory of Eleanor Dodge Barton and Marjorie R. Hubbard, 1991.178.

Seminar

In-Person
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

This event requires registration; see further details below.

Join curatorial fellow and painting specialist Janet O’Brien and Shriya Srinivasan, an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer and professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard, for a cross-disciplinary seminar on the theme of romantic and divine love in Indian painting and dance. O’Brien will examine a selection of scenes, focusing on pictorial narratives and gestures meant to evoke a wide range of emotions. Srinivasan will demonstrate how the various expressions of love convey the mood of each scene. She will also explain the neuroscience behind an audience’s emotional reaction to the dance moves.

Led by:
Janet O’Brien, Calderwood Curatorial Fellow in South Asian and Islamic Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums
Shriya Srinivasan, Co-Founder and Artistic Co-Director, Anubhava Dance Company, and Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Harvard University

Free admission, but registration is required. You can register by clicking on the event on this form, beginning on Tuesday, October 29.

Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the program to allow sufficient time to sign in at the Art Study Center reception desk (Level 4), and be prepared to present a photo ID. All coats and bags must be placed in a locker prior to entering the study room. Children age 14 and older are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.

The Harvard Art Museums offer free admission every day, Tuesday through Sunday. Please see the museum visit page to learn about our general policies for visiting the museums.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.