On its last leg in Asia, an exhibition brings to light the unparalleled creative collaboration between two young Indian royals and a German architect that birthed a modernist gem
A photograph, and a watercolour (right) by Eckart Muthesius depicting Manik Bagh Palace. Pics/Dweep Bane
A the same time as F Scott Fitzgerald unleashed The Great Gatsby upon the American reader, a quiet revolution was occurring on the Eastern horizon. “It was the perfect synthesis of art, architecture, design and ideas. I would call them pioneers,” shares Raffael Dedo Gadebusch, head and senior curator of the Museum fur Asiatische Kunst, Berlin. Gadebusch’s enthusiasm echoes across the gallery space we are in at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum that hosts the Eckart Muthesius and Manik Bagh — Pioneering Modernism in India. The exhibition, hosted in collaboration with Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin (Asian Art Museum) and the German Consulate General Mumbai offers a glimpse of this revolution.
Senior curator Raffael Dedo Gadebusch helms the walkthrough
“Mumbai is the perfect place for a finale to this exhibition. It was here in 1934 that Muthesius opened at the first exhibition of modernism showcasing his tubular steel furniture,” Gadebusch reveals. In fact, Muthesius might have also witnessed the opening of Regal Cinema in 1933 when he visited the city.
Eckart Muthesius (seated) and Ernst Messerschmidt during the construction of Manik Bagh Palace. Pic Courtesy/Shubha & Prahlad Bubbar Collection
By then, the architect was already at work on what remains his magnum opus, Manik Bagh Palace — The first modernist building in South Asia, if not all Asia, Gadebusch emphasises. Completed in 1933 for the Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II and his young wife, Maharani Sanyogita, the building featured modern ideas in design and architecture such as electrically-operated sheds, thick tinted glasses to balance light, innovative material from wall paints to sleek furniture designs by Eileen Gray, Louis Sognot and Charlotte Alix among others.
The entrance hall at the Palace with Bernard Boutet de Monvel's portrait of Yashwant Rao Holkar II. Pic Courtesy/Taimur Hassan Collection
It was not all European, either. On cue, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, curator of the Museum, picks out a photograph that showcases the similarities in Muthesius’ design to the Mughal gardens and ideas of its waterworks.
A moment from the film by Henri-Pierre Roché
The exhibition is a veritable zeitgeist lived through photographs and canvas. Gadebusch guides our attention to one photograph of Muthesius working quietly in the foreground with an assistant standing by. “That’s Ernst Messerschmidt. He worked on the walls and colours of the palace.” Messerschmidt would later work with Bhagwandas Morarji Kamdar, who would pioneer furniture and interior design practices in 1930s Bombay.
A photograph of Eckart Muthesius in the gallery
In some ways, the exhibition feels like a glimpse of an artistic Algonquin round table. Bernard Boutet de Monvel created portraits to celebrate the royal couple, Man Ray and Emil Leitner would photograph them, Constantin Brâncuși designed sculptures, Ivan Da Silva Bruhns fashioned rugs with overlapping geometric styles that would later appear on floors across Art Deco buildings in Mumbai.
A portrait of Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II by Bernard Boutet de Monvel. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons; (right) Man Ray’s iconic photograph of the Holkar couple
As a bonus, Gadebusch guides us to the final room showcasing a slapstick adventure film by Henri-Pierre Roche, better known as the writer of Francois Truffaut’s iconic Jules et Jim. As we watch the slapstick adventure, this writer is quickly reminded of a teenage movie that could be made at home. “It was shot at Muthesius’ family villa in Germany,” comes the revelation. It is no surprise that this was the era that also gave birth to Charles Chaplin and Herge’s Tintin.
While the exhibition will return to Berlin in August, the curator hopes that he will be able to showcase it in the real Manik Bagh Palace in Indore one day. “People often talk of modernism arriving in India, but it is important to remember this narrative too; of a young Maharaja who offered patronage to German architects, designers and industries through this enterprise,” Gadebusch sums it up.
TILL August 17; 10 am to 5.30 pm
AT Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Veermata Jijabai Bhosle Udyan, Byculla East.
ENTRY Museum tickets applicable
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