![]() ![]() Exhibitions allow us to expand the traditional narratives about a European Middle Ages to consider a global Middle Ages of trasnational connections. The majority of the manuscripts in the Getty’s collection were produced in Western Europe from the ninth through the sixteenth century, with additional examples from important centers of the Byzantine world (the Eastern Roman Empire), Armenia, Ethiopia, and elsewhere. This post introduces several of the objects from the exhibition. The exhibition Pathways to Paradise: Medieval India and Europe (on view at the Getty Center from May 1 to August 15, 2018) presents a selection of illuminated manuscripts and luxury objects from Asia, Africa, and Europe that communicate the spiritual quests of individuals who sought sacred groves, providential gems, and guides to enlightenment. At right, the many-eyed god Indra and his consort witness the event. He carries the plant to earth along with his wife Satyabhama, who ride together atop an eagle-like mythical being called Garuda. ![]() The image above shows the blue-skinned Hindu deity Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu, “the preserver”) transplanting the sacred parijata tree from heaven. Several world religions share these conceptions of paradise, but the paths for locating it-whether in a physical environment, a metaphysical realm like heaven, or a state of transcendence-have varied greatly. The word “paradise” often describes an idyllic place of unmatched beauty, but it can also refer to a mindset of harmony and bliss. ![]() Los Angeles County Museum of Art, from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase, M.72.1.26. Opaque watercolor and ink on paper, 7 1/4 × 9 1/2 in. Krishna Uprooting the Parijata Tree from a Bhagavata Purana manuscript, 1525–50, made in Delhi region or Rajasthan, India. ![]()
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