The National and Contemporary Art Galleries in the Government Museum, Chennai houses valuable pieces of art. To stand in front of the artwork created by an artist who's lived hundreds of years before us is a unique experience in itself. Art history is important as it gives us visual clues to the past that serve as a record of history and makes us understand that there is much more to art. Any work of art can be analysed formally and contextually while the former simply appreciates the artist’s handwork, the latter serves as an opening into the past.

 

The Galleries contains a variety of visual mediums like the traditional Tanjore painting which is indigenous to our land and also occidental art like the Portraits of the British governor generals. There is also a hybridisation of art in Ravi Varma’s paintings which are considered to be ‘national treasures.’ Along with these paintings, contemporary paintings of later artists and a handful of sculptures are also exhibited in the museum.

 

There is more to art than what meets the eye. To understand the true meaning and what goes behind a painting, one has to delve into the past to understand art concerning its present context. The longer one spends with a work of art, the more you get drawn into it.