Muslim Triumvirate Rules India’s Art Republic

#43, Farzana {``Unbelievable...cut&pastes still live...``}

Farzana,
Normally I am against C&P, but this one was in commemoration of one recently departed polluter. :)

Re: # 43

And here`s me thinking it was ... cut and thrust and parry......-) I must be growing old.

Unbelievable...cut&pastes still live...

Re: # 40
FV

[What are good S. Indians with a knowledge of Bharat Natyam and Kathakali doing discussing firang dancers?]

Post-colonial studies, that`s what it passes off for. The fascination of the brown Indian male for the white epidermis of the opposite sex from far off northern lands . It is a back lash against E M Foster and Paul Scott and all those people.

[And Sanskrit was invented by Max Mueller:)]

It was and he was well paid by the Church of England. It`s a conspiracy I tell you. -)

Farzana #40, {``What trap? You did think it was Van Gogh and El Greco -- in fact you were on to a great conspiracy theory...I hope I have added to the discussion and put all doubts to rest ;) ``}

Dear Farzana,
Now you are giving me more credit than I deserve. I have been so immersed in this whole Da Vinci conspiracy theory. This ranges from the ``Last Supper`` painting with its depiction of one of the more effeminate apostles, John, now deemed to be Mary Magedeline, to the entire Swiss banking monopoly being the residue of the Knights Templars, and Dubya being a direct descendant of the daughter of Jesus. To me it never made sense for the Son of God to run around with 12 Jewish men while pretty Mary Magdeline was his true love. Another trap I laid was that I called it an 18th century painting. In reality Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in the period 1503-1506.

Some interesting details about the painting from the Worsley School:

http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/monalisa/page.html

The Mona Lisa



{``Mona Lisa is thought to have been the portrait of La Gioconda, a young Florentine woman who was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. La Gioconda was 24 years old when the portrait was begun. She sits, dressed in the fashion of her day, in front of a mountainous landscape. The painting is a wonderful example of Leonardo`s sfumato technique of soft, heavy shading. He used his finger to erase outlines and create an impression of fuzziness.
Have a look at a larger image of Mona Lisa.

In any portrait, the expression is created mainly in two features: the mouth and the eyes. Leonardo deliberately made the corners of the eyes and mouth on the Mona Lisa indistinct, merging them into soft shadow. When we look at her, we are not quite sure what her mood is.

Da Vinci also did something else unusual when he painted Mona. Look carefully at the picture; you will see that the two sides of the background do not quite match. The horizon on the left side seems much lower than the one on the right. The result is that when you look at the left side of the picture, Mona Lisa seems taller than when you look at the right side.

Da Vinci was also a master at painting details, especially flesh, with oil. Look at the hand, and the sleeves with their detailed folds. Going against the tradition of the time of outlining the painted image, Leonardo use the technique known as sfumato, (in Italian, `vanished or evaporated`). He created imperceptible transitions between light and dark, and sometimes between colours. He blended everything; his brush strokes are almost invisible.

Leonardo was also a master at illuminating his work with light by applying thin layers of paint. The luminescent appearance of Mona Lisa`s skin was created with layers of transparent colour, each very thin, making her face seem to glow.

Leonardo Da Vinci loved the portrait so much that he never gave it to the person who commissioned it. In fact, he carried it with him for years after it was completed. There is also some dispute about the real subject of the painting. A few art historians believe that the portrait may actually have been a composite of several sketches that Leonardo had already made, possibly even of a male model. There is also the suggestion that he painted over a portrait he had made of himself, since the proportions of the facial features seem to match his own.

Mona Lisa is actually sitting on a terrace, but because parts of the painting showing the columns were at one time removed, this is no longer so obvious. Also, some parts of the painting have been damaged and painted over. The painting was stolen in 1911 and wasn`t recovered for two years. In 1956, someone threw acid at the painting; the restoration took several years. In the 1960`s and 1970`s Mona Lisa was placed on exhibit in New York, Tokyo and Moscow. Today, however, the painting is behind bullet-proof glass in Paris in the Louvre, and international agreements prohibit her display elsewhere.

#33 by vsgopal2000:

The orthodox and poor Muslims cannot afford paintings, much like any other orthodox and poor people. However, if you visit Kutcch villages, the rice-paste and mirrorwork art on the walls of the huts are common to Muslims as well as Hindus. They stick to sketching nature and animals, and like all sensible humans beings find god in them.

Re. Padamsee, for some reason he felt he was a part of PAG.
- - -

harimau and swarrier:

What are good S. Indians with a knowledge of Bharat Natyam and Kathakali doing discussing firang dancers?

SW:
[On a side note can I say Europeans are hijacking Indian dance slowly. They`ve already made a headway in politics.-)]

And Sanskrit was invented by Max Mueller:)

- - -

Salim:

What trap? You did think it was Van Gogh and El Greco -- in fact you were on to a great conspiracy theory...the different time periods that Stuka talks about was a genuine collaborative effort because the Mona Lisa was painted over years...that is why there is a shakiness and differring styles: the landscape and the portraiture are vastly different...the background is full-length and the lady is painted upto the rib-cage (which is why da Vinci could fool Dan Brown, you know the `taken from the rib of Adam` thing!). Also the much-talked about smile -- it was nice and straight to begin with, then Van Gogh, having nipped off his ear, decided to project his frustration, so we have the lips twisted like an aural orifice.

I hope I have added to the discussion and put all doubts to rest ;)

Re: # 38
I think both of them spent some of their childhood in India. Veronique Azan`s father was I think a French diplomat in India when she was a child, and Illeana Citaristi is Italian born but spent some part of her life in Cuttack. Citaristi is an Odissi exponent not Kuchipudi , I made a mistake.

On a side note can I say Europeans are hijacking Indian dance slowly. They`ve already made a headway in politics.-)

Ref swarrier #27

[Re: # 25
And Veronique Cazan and Illeana Citaristi are Khatak and Kuchipudi exponents so I`ll throw in the Christian hegemony bit.
Right, now we can have a free for all.]

Those two I believe are foreigners who came to India to learn dance. Leela Samson on the other hand is an n-th generation Indian so the Hindu-Yehuda conspiracy has more substance ;)

Stuka #34, {``A critic would say something like ``The painting appeared to almost come alive and the nice lady was just waiting to start laughing at her audience.``...whereas I am saying, Chutiya kat gaya, issey acha bahar Paris kee hawwa khattey.``}

LOL :)

{``Huh? Abey, the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. ... And next time you cut and paste a critical comment from the web about a piece of art, make sure it references the right one. :) ``}

Huh? What cut & paste? Anyway, you passed the test. You were the only one of the one thousand three hundred and thirteen people who walked passed this minefield and never sensed the trap. :)

Yes, it was Leonardo Da Vinci, who in an interview with Dan Brown, admitted to painting the Mona Lisa. I will admit, I can`t pull a fast one over a Punjoo - especially a Potohari. :)

Stuka #34, {``A critic would say something like ``The painting appeared to almost come alive and the nice lady was just waiting to start laughing at her audience.``...whereas I am saying, Chutiya kat gaya, issey acha bahar Paris kee hawwa khattey.``}

LOL :)

{``Huh? Abey, the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. ... And next time you cut and paste a critical comment from the web about a piece of art, make sure it references the right one. :) ``}

Huh? What cut & paste? Anyway, you passed the test. You were the only one of the one thousand three hundred and thirteen people who walked passed this minefield and never sensed the trap. :)

Yes, it was Leonardo Da Vinci, who in an interview with Dan Brown, admitted to painting the Mona Lisa. I will admit, I can`t pull a fast one over a Punjoo - especially a Potohari. :)

El Greco and Van Gogh did a superb collaborative job on that painting from the 18th century. :)

btw, El Greco and Van Gogh lived in different times period so how the hell would they do a collaborative painting?

``The painting appeared to almost come alive and the nice lady was just waiting to start laughing at her audience.``

Great. You mean that Mona Lisa is like Jaspal Bhatti?

`` I feel very strongly about this topic and disagree with you violently. Next time you go to any museum please take your head out of your pocket and remove your shades before becoming a critic of the arts.``

Lakh lannat on Critics and God forbid I call myself a critic. A critic would say something like ``The painting appeared to almost come alive and the nice lady was just waiting to start laughing at her audience.``...whereas I am saying, Chutiya kat gaya, issey acha bahar Paris kee hawwa khattey.

``As an expert on the Renaissance, personally, I think that El Greco and Van Gogh did a superb collaborative job on that painting from the 18th century. :) ``

Huh? Abey, the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. It was not painted by El Greco and Van Gogh. What the fukk kind of Art Expert are you? The kind Echoboom describes so well???? BTW, the Mona Lisa was not regarded as great because of the intrinsic artwork but because of the symbolism of the feminine mystique and supposed clues to the Holy Grail. You can read up on this online or check out Dan Brown`s book, the Da Vinci code. And next time you cut and paste a critical comment from the web about a piece of art, make sure it references the right one. :)

This is wrt Farzana`s #12

Sorry, Farzana, for the delayed response from me.

Many of my statements may indeed be contestible. One was in relation to display of paintings in Muslim households. The less orthodox or the middle/upper class Muslims have normal practices in terms of having paintings at home and in their love for various other arts. I thought the orthodox or poorer muslims shun paintings at home.

There are many great/good Muslim artists I had omitted . It is not a perfect article. The PAG consisted of 6 artists namely Husain, Ara, Raza, Souza, Gade and Bakle. Akbar Padamsee was not counted as a real PAG man.

Regards
V.S.Gopalakrishnan

Think before you write about Hindu Goda GopalK

the first-time i saw picure of mona-lisa was in a magazine and she blew me away. its was a centerfold piece..and later i found out about da-vincis mona lisa which is alright..

Has anyone seen Shakeel Siddiqui`s stuff? It`s great. I think he`s Pakistani but he studied in the US and lives somewhere in the Middle East.