Where Traditions Meet: Painting in India from the 15th-17th Centuries

India has long been a fertile ground for the germination and intersection of artistic traditions. Its rich and innovative visual heritage is well documented in artwork created during the formative years of Indian painting, from the 14th through the 17th century. During this period Persian artists brought their techniques to India to serve the new Islamic courts, and local painters used vibrant indigenous styles to illustrate religious and allegorical subjects. Aspects of these styles intermingled and culminated in the royal court paintings of the period. This exhibition of works from the Harvard University Art Museums explores the evolution of Indian painting, from early illustrations of Jain and Buddhist manuscripts to refined and syncretized paintings done in the Rajput courts and under the Mughal emperors.

Organized by Pramod Chandra, George P. Bickford Professor of Indian and South Asian Art in the History of Art and Architecture Department, Harvard University, and cocurated by graduate students Alexander Keefe and James McHugh.