Gopal Prasad Sharma

Gopal Prasad Sharma is an internationally recognized Indian artist associated with the traditional miniature art of Rajasthan.

He received a National Award for Master Craftsman in 2007.

His miniature paintings relate to Indian gods and the Mughal period, with intricate and delicate brushwork.

He creates his colours from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, and pure gold and silver.

In 2003, the Nehru Centre, London recognized his artwork when he made a world-record smallest painting on a mustard seed.

He began teaching in 1989. He has taught approximately 20,000 students internationally, via school workshops and private lessons.

Biography

Gopal Prasad Sharma was born in Bijolia, Rajasthan on 16 June 1968. His Hindu family were artists to the royal family of Bijolia. Gopal began as a wall painter in his village and also made wooden furniture. He often traveled to different villages to paint walls. He painted on paper as a hobby and later adopted miniature painting as his profession.

Gopal began working as a professional artist in 1980. He made his name in the miniature art genre by working on handmade paper with natural colours. He created detailed paintings based on the culture and tradition of Rajasthan and the mughal theme, the oldest theme in Indian miniature.

He won the National Awardnational award is given by president of india which is the highest civilian award of india under the process of selecting the paintings by the jury assigned by handicrafts department of india , DCH development commissioner handicrafts comes under ministry of textiles and handicrafts by government of india for his research, artwork, and spreading the knowledge of traditional miniature. He became noted in the Indian miniature art world for portraits of famous people, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, Princess Diana, and Bill Clinton.

He has received various other awards and exhibited his artwork internationally.

His children, Abhisek Sharma and Neha Sharma, are both artists and working under the guidelines of their father. They have each won their own awards.