Category History

Which museum in Paris houses Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Mona Lisa?

The Mona Lisa painting is one of the most emblematic portraits in the history of art, where is located at the Louvre. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century, it joined the collections of the court of France before being added to the works on display at the Louvre Museum.

The composition technique of the painting makes it one of the most studied works in the history of art and by apprentice artists. It is highly regarded for its modern framing as a portrait that could be painted now. More subtly, optical effects are created by the positioning of the young woman’s eyes and her enigmatic smile. Some people say they feel watched by the Mona Lisa, no matter where they are standing. This anecdote demonstrates Leonardo da Vinci’s scientific and anatomical knowledge. As for the Mona Lisa’s famous smile, witness accounts say that a group of musicians played while the painter worked to keep this joyful attitude.

The background is also a textbook case. The sfumato technique is used to create perspective that merges gently.

It is undoubtedly the mystery of the Mona Lisa that has made it so famous. But is it actually Lisa who is depicted? It is reported that the person who commissioned the painting from Leonardo da Vinci was a nobleman living in Florence. Twice widowed, Francesco del Giocondo married a young woman named Lisa in 1495. It is this story that gave the little painting, measuring 30 inches x 21 inches, its name. Another theory is that the young woman in the picture is no other than a mistress of Giuliano de’ Medici, ruler of the Republic of Florence. The mystery has never been solved.

The Mona Lisa became popular with the general public when it was famously stolen in 1911. The press jumped on the event: people wanted to know who could have stolen the Mona Lisa painting, why, and above all how. The painting was found, and the guilty party was an overly nationalistic Italian named Vincenzo Peruggia, who had intended to return the work to his home country.

 

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The Natural History Museum in London branched from which popular museum?

Founded in 1756 as a branch of the British Museum, the NHM became an independent institution in 1963. Since 1881, the museum is housed in an imposing Victorian-style building designed by English architect Alfred Waterhouse.
An extension designed by the Danish firm C.F. Møller, the Darwin Centre, was opened in 2009.
Together with the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, the HNM is one of the three major museums located on Exhibition Road, in South Kensington, one of the most renowned cultural districts in Europe.

The program of events and activities of the NHM features temporary exhibitions, special events, guided tours, workshops, and educational programs. The museum includes three shops, four cafes, a grill restaurant, and a free picnic area.
Most of the Natural History Museum is accessible to people with disabilities; a limited number of wheelchairs are available, free of charge.

High above the Museum’s main attractions there’s another decorative feature that’s easy to miss, unless you know where to look.

The building’s gallery ceilings are adorned with intricate tiles displaying a vast array of plants from all over the world, with Hintze Hall’s ceiling alone covered with 162 individual panels.

These beautifully designed tiles reflect an era when exotic plant specimens flooded into Britain, sparking public interest in botany and horticulture.

 

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Which Indian city hosts both a kite and a utensils museum?

Ahmedabad is a city of museums — kite museum, a museum of utensils, a world-class textile museum, toy museum and more. The museum that opened to the public last year, is just a 100 metres away from the famed Calico Museum of Textiles in Shahibaug.

At first, the architecture of this colonial structure draws you in, before the masterpieces inside take over.

The pathway, flanked by well-landscaped lush green lawns and a two-tier fountain, leads you to the 113-year-old mansion, which was once home to the Lalbhai family. Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum is one of the few examples of a house turned into a museum, in the country.

Today, the three buildings in the complex display a collection of traditional and folk art from various schools — Persian, Mughal, Rajput, Pahari and modern and contemporary Indian art.

There is also a small amphitheatre to screen films and intimate performances.

While a part of the collection — particularly manuscripts, archival documents — went to the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute of Indology, an engaging narrative of Indian art’s journey unfolds at Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum. It’s impossible to ignore one of the oldest versions of the ‘Khamsa of Nizami’. This is the illustrated khamsa or the five poems by the 12th-Century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi.

The visitor can flip through the pages of the manuscript on an iPad. Another rare work in the section is 13 episodes (watercolour, 1920) of the Ramayana painted by Nandalal Bose. You can spend hours trying to read postcards sent by students to teachers in Santiniketan from 1913-1940.

 

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What is the history of Sun Temple?

The loyal architect

The temple was built in the 13th Century King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty who was a worshipper of the sun god. The project was led by architect Bisu Moharana. It took 12 years to complete the temple using over 1,200 artisans. It is said that Moharana was so committed to the project that he did not even meet his son, who was born during this period, for 12 years. However, Moharana was unable to complete the temple during his time. It was his son who actually completed the temple by constructing its cupola.

A chariot

The Sun Temple is built to represent the chariot of the sun god. The chariot has 12 pairs of wheels drawn by seven horses. These pairs of wheels found at the base of the temple are said to represent the 12 months of the Hindu calendar. Some believe that the 24 wheels represent the 24 hours in a day. When it comes to the horses, they are said to represent the seven days of the week. The temple is also adorned with many intricate engravings.

Wheels of time

The wheels of the chariots are designed as sundials that can be used to calculate the time. Each wheel has eight spokes, representing three hours each. As the sun’s rays fall on the wheel, the shadow of the spokes tell you the time. This is how time was predicted in ancient India. It is said that some experts can calculate the time accurately by just looking at the wheel!

The Black Pagoda

While today the Sun Temple is a little away from the shore, it was actually constructed on the shore. Over the years, the water receded. During its heyday, the temple was treated as a landmark for navigational purposes by European sailors. The sailors referred to the temple as the Black Pagoda due to the dark colour of the stone used.

A temple in ruins

The Sun Temple, as we see it today. is mostly in ruins. It is still unclear as to what caused the decline of the temple. When it was constructed, the temple had a main sanctum sanctorum, almost 229 feet tall. This is where the main idol of the sun god was kept. This sanctum fell in the year 1837, and the temple has remained without a sanctum sanctorum or a main idol ever since.

 

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What is the history of Jaisalmer Fort?

1. A living fort

The Jaisalmer Fort is considered one among the very few living forts in the world. Close to one fourth of Jaisalmer’s population lives inside the fort. When the fort was constructed nearly 850 years ago, the city was the part inside the fort walls. Settlements outside the fort were said to have come up around the 17th Century to accommodate the city’s expanding population.

2. The Golden Fort

The fort walls are built using yellow sandstone, giving it a lion-like colour in the day, which fades to a honey-gold as the sun sets, camouflaging the fort with the surrounding Thar desert. The fort is aptly called Sonar Quila’ or The Golden Fort. As the lights turn on in the night the fort continues to shine like a golden jewel above the city

3. No more an excellent drainage system

The Jaisalmer fort boasted an excellent drainage system in its initial years. The system, called ghut nali, allowed for easy drainage of rainwater away from the fort in all four directions. However, over the years, badly-planned construction activities and building of new roads have reduced the effectiveness of the drainage system. Today, most of the fort has a problem of water seepage.

4. Intricate havelis

Inside the fort one can find palaces, Jain and Hindu temples as well as havelis. Built by wealthy merchants, most of the havelis are constructed using ornate sandstone and are occupied even today. Many of these havelis have several floors and countless rooms with beautifully decorated archways, windows, doors and museums. Patwon ki haveli is the most famous of the lot as it was one of the first havelis to be built in Jaisalmer. Commissioned in the year 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa, this is a cluster of five havelis and is one of the largest in the city.

5. Stay inside Heritage Site

Since it is still occupied by people, the Jaisalmer Fort gives you the opportunity to stay inside a World Heritage Site, one of the very few sites to offer such a chance. There are several hotels as well as guest houses inside the fort where one can find accommodation.

 

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What is Intangible cultural heritage?

When someone mentions heritage, grand monuments is what often comes to front of the mind. But heritage is beyond that. It includes traditions or living expressions inherited from ancestors and passed on through generations. These may be in the form of performing arts, oral traditions, social practices, rituals knowledge, festive events and crafts among others.

Intangible cultural heritage plays an important role in maintaining cultural diversity in the times of globalisation. Understanding the heritage of different communities helps with intercultural dialogues and encourages mutual respect. It is especially relevant to minority groups and mainstream social groups within a State, and is as important for developing countries as for developed ones.

In 2003, UNESCO drafted the Conversation for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for the protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage. As of 2020, 180 countries have either ratified, approved or accepted the Convention. Every year, the intergovernmental committee for safeguarding intangible heritage meets to evaluate nominations proposed by States and decide whether or not to include a certain element to the list.

Thus far, 549 cultural elements from 127 countries have been added to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. These include the Kumbh Mela, Yoga, Chhau dance, Kutiyaattan, and Ramlila among others from India.

 

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