A three-day International Seminar on Rajasthan Miniature Paintings has begun on March 20 at the National Museum. Inaugurating the seminar, the Union Culture Minister Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that there is a need to provide training to painters and artists in the field of preservation and conservation of miniature paintings. Describing miniature paintings as an important art form, she said copies of miniature paintings must be preserved as these works are of immense historical and cultural importance for future generations. The Minister said, her Ministry is making all efforts to provide training to young Indian professionals in the field of preservation and conservation. She said, the objective of the Ministry is to prepare them better for care of the collections at their home institution and to build a larger and stronger conservation community in India with links to an international network of professionals. She said, three MoUs in this regard have already been signed with international organizations such as British Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch shared her personal association with the Kangra paintings of Himachal and her affection towards Indian miniature paintings. She, in fact, has been the custodian of some of these miniature paintings.
Prof (Dr) B.N.Goswamy, eminent art historian, an expert on Indian miniatures was the keynote speaker on the occasion. In his speech Dr. Goswamy said that seminars like this help to contemplate about art and its place in society. He appreciated the richness of the desert land, which are inestimable. He opined that “art in Rajasthan is incalculable and beyond belief and there are treasures waiting to be found, discovered and analysed.” He addressed the academia to look beyond the known beauties of Rajasthani miniatures and also investigate the unexplored fabrics of abstraction and sub textual imageries in the Rajasthani paintings.
Smt. Sangita Gairola, Secretary, Minister of Culture in her address talked about her deep association with Rajasthan and admiration for the paintings. Dr. Venu Vasudevan, Vice Chancellor of National Museum Institute and Director-General, National Museum also spoke on the occasion.
The three-day seminar organized by National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology will see the participation of eminent art historians and scholars from India and abroad.
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