Shrines, Myths, and Devotion: A journey through South Indian Painting

28th Karl J. Khandalavala Memorial Lecture Shrines, Myths, and Devotion: A journey through South Indian Painting Lecture by Dr. Anna L. Dallapiccola About the Lecture While touring extensively through South India since the early eighties, the Dr. Anna Dallapiccola’s attention was drawn to the rapidly decaying murals in temples and palaces. She believed that this irreplaceable cultural heritage had to be documented before it disappeared. She made detailed descriptions of the murals since she did not have the necessary photographic equipment or permissions at the time. Eventually, through the support of generous sponsors, she was able to systematically travel through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka from 2013 to 2018 with a professional photographer, and the material was published online in 2020. Alongside her research on the murals, Dr. Anna Dallapiccola worked on the South Indian paintings in the British Museum, Kalamkari at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and South Indian paintings in private collections. At present, she is writing the catalogue of the extensive collection of South Indian paintings gifted to the CSMVS by the late Mr. Kuldip Singh. Dr. Anna L. Dallapiccola is formerly Professor of Indian Art at the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University (1971to 1995) and Honorary Professor at Edinburgh University (1991) onwards. She has regularly lectured at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London and has been a Visiting Professor at De Montfort University, Leicester. Among her latest publications are: Catalogue of South Indian Paintings in the collection of the British Museum (2010), Indian Painting: The Lesser-Known Traditions (2011), Kalamkari Temple Hangings (2015) and Reverse Glass Painting in India (2017), and co-authored with G. Michell, Lepakshi, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting (2019). [CSMVS, Anna Dallapiccola, South Indian painting, Indian art history, temple murals, Kalamkari, museum lecture, art history lecture, Indian heritage, cultural preservation, British Museum, V&A Museum, Karl Khandalavala Memorial Lecture, Indian painting traditions]