National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru (Ministry of Culture, Government of India) in collaboration with Gandhi Centre for Science and Human Values, invites you to the virtual talk on INDIA'S HERITAGE IN ROCK AND MURAL ART on Friday, 26th February 2021 at 4.00 pm live on https://www.facebook.com/ngmaBengaluru by Prof. Benoy K. Behl, Art Historian, Photographer, Filmmaker India has one of the finest traditions of painting in the world, coming from ancient times. Ancient and exquisite Indian murals are the foundations of the tradition of later manuscript paintings and Indian miniatures. These ancient murals are largely Buddhist and the greatest surviving body of work is in the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra in Western India. This early tradition is not generally known, as many of these paintings are hidden in dark recesses in ancient temples and caves. These had not been clearly photographed or sufficiently represented to the world before. It was generally believed that India did not have a continuous tradition of painting, which came from ancient times. Even the Ajanta murals, which were known, were considered as a flash in the pan, as many were not aware of other paintings of the centuries after Ajanta. The study and teaching of the styles of Indian paintings have been generally taken up from the medieval period onwards. Behl's photography of the early Indian murals has placed the Indian tradition of paintings in a new perspective. This illustrated lecture has been delivered at a host of prestigious universities and museums around the world and has clearly established the fact of the continuous tradition of painting, since ancient times, in India. The murals of India have also been established as one of the greatest and most sublime traditions of the art of the world.   View Details