India has attracted people from all over the world for various reasons for centuries. Chapters of history are engraved in details with notes and footnotes with all particulars on aggression and invasion. Russia is the exception. Russia and India have had a long-standing tradition of friendly cultural relations. There are no irritants in the entire complex structure of Russian-Indian relationship. India's inimitable ethnic image, rich cultural heritage and wonderful variety of nature in abundance have fascinated Russian and Soviet artists for more than one and a half century with passion for Indian themes to create inspiring visual narrative rarity found nowhere in the world. They excelled exquisitely with skills of perfection and devoted love for India and her people which has withstood the taste of time. This monograph focuses on some of the great artists who marvelled to portray India's enchanting kaleidoscope and her lively inspiring and friendly people.
Ekaterina Zozulya was born in April 1956 in Russian family in Riga city, the capital of Latvia. Ekaterina grew with varied interests in art, literature, history, travelling, landscape, gardening, fancy works and sports. She graduated from the Institute of National Economy, Moscow, in 1977. Being an economist by profession, she worked in the Intourist (Government tourist organization) as a follow up. Following her marriage with Mr. Yuri Zozulya she joined her husband at the service of diplomatic mission in countries like Bangladesh and India. On different occasions she has visited places of Great Britain, Ireland, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, and many other countries. During her stay in India Ekaterina travelled through Tamilnadu, Manipur, Punjub, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, and in West Bengal from down below Sundarban to Shantiniketan and up in the north Darjeeling, Kalimpong. Being mother of two grown up children she continued her research project in Russian Fine Arts and delivered well illustrated important lectures at the Victoria Memorial, Indian Museum, The Asiatic Society, Manipur State Museum (Imphal). She is now staying in India as an Executive to the Vice Consul of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Kolkata at Gorky Sadan, the Russian Cultural Centre.
It gives me immense pleasure in placing the monograph, "Russian Artists in India" by Ekaterina Zozulya to the general readers. Madame Zozulya delivered an illustrated lecture at the Asiatic Society under the Public Lecture series. The lecture was highly appreciated by the scholars present on the occasion. The Asiatic Society decided to bring out the lecture in the shape of a monograph as a token of appreciation of the Indo-Soviet relations during the last 150 years in the realm of painting. I hope the students of painting in particular and interested readers in general will appreciate this monograph.
History can be immortalized in stone as well as through other materials, Chronicles, paintings and sculptures have been the usual modes of capturing important events of the past and present. Nowadays they are also portrayed in photographs and films. But no one art form can take the place of another, for each one has its own story to tell and its own beauty to create. The one hundred and fifty-year history of various Russian and Soviet artists' interest in India shows that few other people have had such a fascination for this country or have portrayed it as much in art as the Russian artists. Obviously, those scholars who believe that the South-East Europe, from the Dnestr to the Urals, is a common ancestral land for the Slavs and the Aryans, are right. It is not accidental, of course, that the Slavic languages and Sanskrit have more words and structural elements in common than any other Indo-European language. During this long period of time the Russian artists turned to the wide spectrum of the masses for their subjects, portraying workers, peasants, sweepers, laundresses, coolies, craftsmen. writers, actors, statesmen and public figures. This is what makes their work on India so representative and exhaustive-it shows all the social strata that make up the people of India. Yet an artist is the sum total of many attributes talent, temperament, style, manner and technique. A very artist who has been inspired by India has made his own contribution to the long succession of images making up the frieze depicting the variety of the Indian people and their wonderful land. Of course, I haven't mentioned all the names of Russian artists linked with India-there are too many of them. This exhibition deals only with those of them who one way or another had made the greatest contribution to the expression of the theme. I'm sure that this theme will be continued by the subsequent generations of artists, because the well of our friendship will never dry up, and our artists will always be eager to portray India, a wonderful and unique country
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