Masterpieces of Braj Culture Museum Vrindavan Research Institute (Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Art and Culture)

The Vrindavan Research Institute was founded in the year 1968 by Dr Ramdas Gupta to collect, preserve, research and publish the rare and unpublished manuscripts. In course of time the collection has added exhibits like sculptures, terracottas, bronzes, paintings etc. A separate Braj Culture Museum is also established in VRI premises to display there various art objects related to Braj Culture. The VRI is continuously modernizing the Museum Galleries and presenting new collections to visitors at a glance.

Indian Art is enormously vast. It is a grand chapter in the history of human thought and splendid in expressions. The richness of India's culture is mirrored in these art forms. Each art form has uniqueness which imparts it an unmatched quality. The book affords a unique opportunity to present to the research scholars, art lovers and general readers.

Our sincere thanks to Dr Vijay Kumar Mathur, former Curator, National Museum and at present Consultant (Museum), Union Public Service Commission, Delhi and Smt. Mamta Kumari, Curator, Braj Culture Museum, VRI, Vrindavan for selecting the artifacts from the treasure chest of VRI and writing the text of the book. They dived deeply into every object and opened up new vistas of knowledge.

Art of India occupies the foremost place in the history of world art. The artist in India had attained a high degree of excellence at a very early period and specimens produced by him are truly marvels of human industry and skill. One finds in them an intensity of feeling, a revelation of the powers of the unseen which is not approached in the art elsewhere in the world. Havell has expressed, "the best Indian sculpture touched a note of deeper feelings and finer sentiments than the best Greek. There is in this art a depth and spirituality which never entered into the soul of Greek'. Art is the visual expression of an Te intense experience which the artist tries to communicate to the spectator. The artist has first to see beauty, then to reveal it. The success of an artistic production depends on the intensity of the artist's realization of the beauty and his ability to interpret his experience to other. Various geographical, climate and social factors have always influenced the artist in his work.

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