Summary
The opportunity to sketch sculptures and artefacts displayed at the Indian Museum was suspended in December 2004 citing security concerns, following the theft of a Buddha statue from the premises
Museum sculpture study, a significant part of the curriculum for students of the Government College of Art and Craft, is set to resume after nearly two decades.
The opportunity to sketch sculptures and artefacts displayed at the Indian Museum was suspended in December 2004 citing security concerns, following the theft of a Buddha statue from the premises.
Talks for reviving the course were on since last year.
Security at the museum was strengthened with the deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in 2019 and installation of a comprehensive CCTV coverage.
“After a recent meeting of the board of trustees of the Indian Museum, governor C.V. Ananda Bose, who is chairman of the board, has given the go-ahead for reviving the museum sculpture study for students of the Government College of Art and Craft,” said Sayan Bhattacharya, education officer at the museum.
Drawing is an important part of the curriculum for students of the art college. The course includes plant and animal life, still life, object study and life model study.
“They understand proportion, linearity, the difference between shapes through such studies,” said Chattrapati Dutta, principal of the college. “As part of the curriculum, students also study museum objects and reliefs.... We have been in talks with the museum authorities for some time now to revive the course for our students.”
Did the suspension of the course affect students’ learning? Dutta said: “Students have to make submissions of their drawings and sketches at the end of the year. Yes, this aspect was missing from their sketches.”
The museum and the college share the same building.
“Before Independence, the curator of the art section of the museum used to be the principal of the college. But after Independence, the museum came under the ministry of culture of the central government while the art college is under the state government. So things need to be formally proposed and approved,” said Dutta.
While the governor inaugurated the museum sculpture study course on May 9 at the Indian Museum, students from the art college will get to do their sketches when they come back after the summer vacation and educational tour, said Dutta.
Arijit Dutta Choudhury, director of the Indian Museum, said: “During my visits to the museum when I was young, I would see students making sketches of the sculptures. It was an important part of their study, of which they were deprived. Now that we have the CISF and a good CCTV coverage of the museum, there is no reason why the study should not be revived.”
The museum has 500 CCTV cameras, whose footage is monitored by the CISF personnel.
Last updated on 17 May 2023
