The great Indian Summer mural
Inspired by the exhibitions Garden
and Cosmos: the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur and
India Landscape, families
visiting the British Museum in August created an enormous
mural.
Week one: from jungle to plains
Friday 7 August 2009
The first panels of the Indian Summer mural show
stories of enchantment, as Krishna summons women to come to him and
Princess Padmini flies through the sky to follow
Jallandharnath.
Week two: palaces and formal
gardens
Friday 14 August 2009
This week the scene moved to the court of the
Maharajah, inspired by the exquisite palaces depicted in the
paintings in the exhibition. These palaces were surrounded by
carefully manicured formal gardens and bathing pools for the use by
the Maharajah, his wife and his courtiers.
Week three: mountain ranges
Friday 21 August 2009
The mural explores different Indian environments.
This week, the panels show the mountain ranges of the Himalayas,
where many Indian stories take place and whose melted snow is the
source of the holy river Ganges.
Week four: into the Cosmos
Friday 28 August 2009
The final week is inspired by mystical paintings
which depict cosmic figures against bright golden backgrounds. The
participants carefully painted in the vivid golden fire and
painstakingly collaged the hair of the figure in the central panel,
giving it a fantastic texture.