Jump to content tickets Member | Make a donation
Search

The Deccan through a Photographer's Lens

Return to Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy

Play slideshow
Image 1 of 22

The Deccan through a Photographer's Lens

In 2014 The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned Paris-based photographer Antonio Martinelli to photograph the art and architecture of the Deccan region. Some of this work is published in the catalogue, and a few stunning enlargements are displayed in the exhibition. In addition to capturing the remains of the great Deccan empires, his photographs evoke the mood, spirit, and grandeur of the Deccan, its palette, and people. Though important evidence of the remaining Deccan historical sites, Martinelli's photographs are like otherworldly dreamscapes—capturing a slightly overgrown, but far from forgotten, past.

Antonio Martinelli is a photographer of international reputation, who has worked extensively in India, Europe, and Japan, and has published many works as well as produced exhibitions on architectural and geographical subjects. He graduated in Architecture from the University of Venice. Most notable of his many book publications are: The Royal Palaces of India (Thames & Hudson, 1994), Oriental Scenery: Two Hundred Years of Architectural Heritage (Citadelles & Mazenot, 1998) and Palaces of Rajasthan (India Book House, 2003). His latest book, Lucknow au Miroir du Temps (Filigranes Editions, 2011), is also the catalogue of the exhibition he held at the Musée Guimet in Paris.