Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy

Why is in news? Second Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Memorial Lecture to be held tomorrow on ‘Towards Decolonizing Indian Art History via the Problem of Mimesis in the Citrasutra’

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is going to organise Second Ananda Coomaraswamy Memorial Lecture on 6th October, 2023 the topic ‘Towards Decolonizing Indian Art History via the Problem of Mimesis in the Citrasutra’ to commemorate the 76th Death Anniversary of A.K. Coomaraswamy.

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy was one of the pioneering art historians of the 20th century whose art-historic writing is an intellectual landmark due to its interpretative eloquence and ardent advocacy in favour of the indigenous roots of Indian art.

He remains a unique and inspiring scholar and author across the many fields of study he made his own.

Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy (22 August 1877 − 9 September 1947) was a Ceylonese metaphysician, historian and a philosopher of Indian art who was an early interpreter of Indian culture to the West.

In particular, he is described as "the ground breaking theorist who was largely responsible for introducing ancient Indian art to the West".

He played a pivotal role in advocating for the recognition of the indigenous roots of Indian art, challenging colonial narratives.

Citrasutra:

The Citrasutra is a Sanskrit text that is a part of the Vishnudharmottara Purana, a sacred Indian scripture that encompasses various aspects of art, culture, and religion.

Citrasutra classifies paintings into three categories: Chithra (Two-dimensional line drawing paintings); Ardha Chithra (Paintings in low relief); Chithra Bhasa (Paintings that resemble sculptures, blurring the lines between two-dimensional and three-dimensional art).