Capital art

Two brilliant shows in New Delhi kick off the winter season.

This is the time to be in Delhi. Not only will the capital host the first-ever auction of antiquities on November 29 at Hotel Taj Mahal, thanks to Osian’s, it has two spectacular shows on that should not be missed by any art lover.

The National Gallery of Modern Art is hosting Indian Life and Landscape by Western artists consisting of paintings and drawings from the Victoria & Albert Museum from the period 1790-1927. While it may pale when viewed against the V&A extravaganza on the maharajas, currently on exhibit in London, its vast scope ranges from early visual representations of imaginary landscapes as described by travellers through East India Company amateur artists, the arrival of the first professional European painters, and the shift from romantic or idyllic pictures to realistic portraits of Indian street life.

Divided into four sections, it includes works by artists known and unknown, and will be on view at Jaipur House till December 6.

Elsewhere, at the Vadehra Art Gallery, the reticent artist A Ramachandran’s show, Bahurupi, curated by Rupika Chawla and Ranesh Ray, is exciting not just for his paintings but for his sculpture, which he has been working on in recent years. Like his canvases, the focus is on Urvashi, the ideal, playful nymph, with the artist himself appearing as a voyeur. The idea of the lotus ponds and the women who come to bathe there has been translated into sculpture, and you can see both in juxtaposition — a rare opportunity, and one which Ramachandran lovers and collectors can enjoy till at least November 7, when the exhibition closes.