Harvard's Fogg Art Museum Exhibits Masterpieces from the East

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

:An exhibition featuring 76 Indian, Persian and Turkish drawings from the collection of Harvard's Arthur M. Sackler Museum will be on view at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum March 19-June 12.

"From Mind, Heart and Hand: Persian, Turkish and Indian Drawings from Stuart Cary Welch Collection" is one of a few major exhibitions ever to focus exclusively upon drawings from South Asia and the Middle East. Featuring drawings from the Fifteenth-Eighteenth centuries and including a small selection from the early colonial era in India, the exhibit will showcase the role that drawings played within the artistic traditions of Persia (modern-day Iran), Turkey and India.

"From Mind, Heart and Hand" will highlight how drawings and sketches served as templates to be copied and were often themselves valuable cultural objects. Contrary to some European traditions, the concept that a master drawing was a complete work of art appears to have existed throughout the Middle East and India. The exhibition will also explore the artistic connections between Persian art and the development of drawing styles in Turkey and India, three regions drawn together by trade, conquest and traditions. A wide range of drawing applications will be represented, from spontaneous sketches to master drawings that were highly prized works of art in their own right.

The exhibition will feature Indian works from both the Mughal Empire, 1526-1857, and regional Hindu kingdoms, which simultaneously ruled different parts of the modern-day countries of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Patrons of the artists working in these related but distinct traditions were both Hindu and Muslim and several examples of drawings in Westernized style by Indian artists for British patrons will be included.

The Mughal tradition was concerned with documentation and accuracy and subjects were drawn from historical and political events. Among the works featured in the exhibition, the meticulously detailed Mughal-style "Battle of Samugarh," North India, 1658, depicts the decisive battle between Shah Jahan's heir Dara Shukoh and his younger brother Prince Aurangzeb, which changed the course of Indian history. Drawn by the well-known artist Payag, the work was likely commissioned by Aurangzeb upon his victory over his brother, and shows the politically charged scene where Dara Shukoh's army is fleeing the battlefield. The battle marked the end of Shah Jahan's reign and with it a decrease in artistic patronage.

The Fogg Art Museum and the Busch-Reisinger Museum are at 32 Quincy Street. The Arthur M. Sackler Museum is next door at 485 Broadway. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday, 1 to 5 pm. Admission is $6.50, $5 for seniors, $5 for students and free for those under 18 years of age. For information, 617-495-9400.