Jyotindra Jain (born 5 June 1943) is an Indian art historian and cultural historian, and

museologist Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

. A scholar on folk and ritual arts of India, he was the director of the National Crafts Museum,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, member secretary and professor (cultural archives), at

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts was ...

( IGNCA), New Delhi, and also professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

, Delhi. He has published a number of books on

Indian folk art Tribal art is the visual arts and material culture of indigenous peoples. Also known as non-Western art or ethnographic art, or, controversially, primitive art, Dutton, Denis, Tribal Art'. In Michael Kelly (editor), ''Encyclopedia of Aesthetics'' ...

, including, ''Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting'', ''Other Masters: Five Contemporary Folk and Tribal Artists of India'' and ''Kalighat Painting: Images from a Changing World''. He has been an

Alexander von Humboldt Fellow The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by th ...

, a Homi Bhabha Fellow and a visiting professor at the Center for the Study for World Religions, Harvard University, US, and was awarded the

Prince Claus Awards The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Awar ...

in 1998.

Early life and education

Jain was born in

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

. His older sister is poet

Jyotsna Milan Jyotsna Milan (19 July 1941 – 4 May 2014) was an Indian novelist, short story writer, poet and editor. She published two novels, several short story collections and two collections of poetry, and wrote in both Gujarati and Hindi. Life and c ...

. He did his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

(now known as

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

), in 1963, followed by an M. A. in Ancient Indian Culture in 1965, also from the university. Next he received an Austrian Government Post-Graduate Scholarship (1970–1972); this helped him do a Certificate in museology from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1972, which led to a Ph.D. in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, in 1972, and ethnographic field research in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa.

Career

Starting in 1975 and till 1978, he conducted field work in Gujarat to set up a Museum of Folk Art for the Shreyas Foundation. Later, as an

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

(1972–1979), he taught for one year at the South Asia Institute at the university. In 1984, he became the director of the National Crafts Museum,

. In 1986 and 1989, he received fellowships from the

Asian Cultural Council The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing international cultural exchange between Asia and the U.S. and between the countries of Asia through the arts. Founded by John D. Rockefeller III in 1963, A ...

which allowed him to visit museums, observe the arts culture, and meet with museum specialists in the United States. Over the years, he has published a number of books including, ''Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting ''(1996); ''Other Masters: Five Contemporary Folk and Tribal Artists of India'' (1998); ''Picture Showmen: Insights into the Narrative Tradition in Indian'' Art (1998); ''Kalighat Painting: Images from a Changing World'' (1999); '' Indian Popular Culture: ‘The Conquest of the World as Picture'' (2004), and ''India’s popular Culture. Iconic spaces and fluid images'' (2007). A member-secretary of IGNCA, Delhi, he curated a retrospective exhibition of photographs by

Lala Deen Dayal Raja Lala Deen Dayal (; c. 1844 – 1905; also written as 'Din Dyal' and 'Diyal' in his early years), famously known as Raja Deen Dayal) was an British India, Indian photographer. His career began in the mid-1870s as a commissioned photographer ...

at IGNCA, in 2010.

Works

*
Jaina iconography: Objects of meditation and the Pantheon, Volume 2
'. with Eberhard Fischer. BRILL, 1978. . * ''Painted myths of creation: art and ritual of an Indian tribe''. Lalit Kala Akademi, 1984. * ''Handwoven fabrics of India'',

Jasleen Dhamija Jasleen Dhamija (1933 – 4 March 2023) was an Indian textile art historian, crafts expert and United Nations worker. Based in Delhi, she was best known for her pioneering research on the handloom and handicraft industry, especially history of te ...

, Jyotindra Jain. Mapin Pub., 1989 * ''Ganga Devi: tradition and expression in Mithila painting''. Mapin in association with the Mithila Museum, 1997. . * ''Picture showmen: insights into the narrative tradition in Indian art''. Marg Publications for National Centre for the Performing Arts, 1998. ISBN 8185026394. * ''Other masters: five contemporary folk and tribal artists of India''. Crafts Museum and the Handicrafts and Handlooms Exports Corporation of India, 1998. * ''Kalighat painting: images from a changing world''. Mapin Pub., 1999. . * ''Indian popular culture, "the conquest of the world as picture"''. Ajeepay Press, 2004. . * ''India's popular culture: iconic spaces and fluid images''. Marg Publications, 2008. .

References

External links

Jyotidra Jain profile, Trustee-Director
at Sanskriti Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Jyotindra Indian art historians 20th-century Indian historians Museum directors Indian curators 1943 births Living people Scientists from Indore Cultural historians Indian museologists University of Mumbai alumni Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University University of Vienna alumni Indian arts administrators Historians of Indian art South Asia Institute Heidelberg faculty