Treasures from French and Indian archives,’ reads the subtitle proudly. Enter the hallowed precincts of the National Museum in Delhi and pictures depicting a bygone era greet you in the hall earmarked for the exhibition, Rajas, Nawabs and Firangees.
As you take in the dominating images from a distance, you are naturally impressed. Move in closer and the truth hits home. The exhibition touted as “a French window onto a rich phase in Indian history… including visual material that’s never before seen in India” is nothing but a mélange of reproductions—images printed on walls, shiny and gilt-edged frames around colourful imagery. So much for the sanctity of the National Museum.
On being repeatedly questioned about why the museum agreed to display ‘prints and reproductions’, a representative who asked to remain anonymous said, “One needs to understand that these works showcase the art which is actually in France. It is simply a way to make people aware of their rich heritage available in other countries. Since these works are not easily accessible to people in India, we decided to get reproductions.” Another museum official says off the record that “it was unfair to expect museums to only host authentic artifacts all the time”. But doesn’t that dilute the overall authenticity of the collection? “Well, it is up to the viewers to be a discerning audience and give the much-needed due where needed,” is the answer.
Curator Samuel Berthet, who is also the director of Alliance Francaise in Hyderabad, offers a different angle, “Most of these paintings are miniatures in album format. They are not meant to be hung on walls. Also, for them to travel across the globe is not feasible. Even back where they are housed they can only be viewed by experts from time to time. No one really has access to them. Besides, during such exhibitions where artworks travel from one museum to another, the larger part of the expense is borne by the receiving museum, not to mention the insurance costs. I don’t think the Indian government is ready for that kind of investment. One has to also keep in mind physical attributes such as humidity so that the frail images are not damaged. Even if all of this is managed, at the end of the entire exercise, one would have a small miniature in a glass box to be viewed from a distance. That would satisfy no one. Digitisation is a godsend in such cases.”
The Indo-French exhibition draws from the archives of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the National Museum in Delhi. It showcases the lives of 12 Indian rulers and the French-speaking officers serving under them from 1750 to 1850. A prominent art writer and curator says on condition of anonymity, “The National Museum showcasing reproductions is a national disgrace. One or maybe two works of art being digitally reproduced can be understood, but almost the entire exhibition based on reproductions is a catastrophe. If financial and logistics resources were not available, then why attempt such a show? A museum of this stature should build relationships with other museums in India and abroad to make such exhibitions easier to attempt.”
In recent times, the National Museum has hosted some extremely revered pieces through its many exhibitions—Unknown Masterpieces of Himachal Folk Art, Jewels of India: The Nizam’s Jewellery Collection, Peru’s Fabulous Treasures, India-Uzbekistan: A Dialogue of Cultures and more. In 2012, 122 works of Pablo Picasso went on show here. At that time, an embassy official said, “It’s bigger than a head of state entering a country.” A visitor to the reputed museum naturally assumes that the art displayed is authentic. By agreeing to exhibit prints, the museum is undermining its own credibility since Louvre, the British Museum or the MET will never agree to a show of reproductions. Its ideal of ‘creating awareness among the masses’ seems to be just a fake.