Saturday, February 13, 2016

A Visit to Sree Chitra Art Gallery


Raja Ravi Varma (self portrait)

It was in September 2013 that I came across a book in the biography section of the Cochin University Central Library. Titled ‘The Painter – A Life of Ravi Varma’, it was written by Deepanjana Pal. The book detailed the life of Raja Ravi Varma (1848 – 1906), the most eminent painter ever to have arisen in Kerala. The epithet ‘Raja’ in his name should not be confused with rulership of any kingdom, but is to be understood as the ceremonial title attributed to aristocratic families related by blood ties to the royal house. His oil paintings ushered in a new era in the art of painting in Kerala and for many Malayalis even today, his name is synonymous with the quintessential artist.

The book provided good priming in exploring the life of Ravi Varma. He sparred with the reigning king Vishakham Tirunal, and had to leave Travancore to Vadodara in search of livelihood. All the time, prodigious pictures that portrayed life in its infinite diversity and painstaking detail continued to astonish connoisseurs of painting and art. Right when I was reading the book, a desire suddenly caught hold of me to see all of Ravi Varma’s paintings in original.

Of course, this is an impossible task. Many, if not most, of his works are in private collections and having no mantle of authority of any kind to grease my way, there is no hope to have a peep into the private collections. What about art galleries in the public domain? The largest collection is said to be in the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum in Vadodara, where the royal family employed him as the court painter. A hall is dedicated to him at the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery in Mysore and some paintings are kept at National Art Gallery in Chennai. Ravi Varma proved his mettle in Vadodara, but his native Kerala also have a few paintings in its collection at the Sree Chitra Art Gallery in Thiruvananthapuram. I haven’t visited any of them yet, so I decided to begin with the local one first.

Taking some time off from an official program, I reached the museum complex in Thiruvananthapuram at 2 pm on February 10, 2016. It was extremely hot, but a lot of people, mostly young couples, occupied the park benches in cool shades. A sense of unhurried charm filled the atmosphere. I walked straight to the impressive building at the centre of the complex, which is in fact the Napier Museum that is shown erroneously as the art gallery in many web sites. The Sree Chitra Art Gallery is where Ravi Varma’s paintings are kept, and it is inside the zoological garden complex nearby. There are separate ticket counters for the zoo and art gallery.
 
Shakuntala
It was a fulfilling experience to view all those pictures so up close! 43 paintings of Ravi Varma is displayed here, including very famous ones like ‘Shakuntala’, ‘Damayanti and the Swan’, ‘Draupadi at the Court of Virata’, ‘Milk Maid’ and ‘Ravana Carrying Sita’. The paintings are placed so close to the visitors that they can touch it if they extend their hands in full, but of course, that is forbidden. Standing in front of Shakuntala, one is instantly mesmerized by her furtive sideways glance at the receding figure of King Dushyanta (who is not in the frame), while bending her knee as if to remove a prick from the heel. The hermitage suddenly comes alive around you with the sound of crickets and the gentle flapping of leaves in the mild breeze until you are brought back to your senses by the loud gossiping of the female attendants in the gallery.

I spent almost an hour and a half at the gallery, which is actually very small in area. As I said earlier, the available space is crammed with pictures. There was only one police officer in the complex and so it is likely that the original pictures are locked away in safe vaults. During the entire period I was in the building, I couldn’t drive away the thought of how the authorities would prevent anyone intent on vandalizing the precious frames? The LED lighting system was not at all pleasing as it threw annoying glare on the uneven canvas surface of the paintings.

'Sweet Remembrance of One So Dear'
The gallery houses the works of Raja Varma, the noted painter’s younger brother. Judging from the painting displayed, it may safely be assumed that he was a worthy brother to Ravi Varma. He died of tumour in the intestines a few years before Ravi Varma himself succumbed to diabetes at the age of 58. The sensuous depiction of a flower gathering girl titled ‘Flower Gatherer’ is simply superb. Rama Varma, who was the son of Ravi Varma, was also a true upholder of his father’s legacy. His ‘Sweet Remembrance of One So Dear’ is an enchanting one as in the dexterity of the interplay of light and shade on the face of a pretty girl wearing a white shawl over her head in profile. This so fascinated me that I decided to procure a reproduction very soon.

It was a memorable time that I had at the gallery. I have decided to visit the others in Chennai, Mysore and Vadodara as well. Web sites say that the Sree Chitra possesses 70 Ravi Varmas, but only 43 are in show. It was maddening to think that the other 27 may be stacked somewhere in its dark storerooms.

The entry ticket costs Rs. 20. The timings are 10.00 am to 4.45 pm except on Mondays and Wednesdays. Monday is a holiday and on Wednesdays, it functions from 1.00 pm to 4.45 pm.

The full list of the 43 paintings by Ravi Varma kept at the Sree Chitra Art Gallery is as follows.

1.    Draupadi and Simhika    1898
2.    Gypsies of South India    1893
3.    Sakuntala    1892
4.    Horses
5.    Judith
6.    Draupadi at the Court of Virata    1897
7.    Swordsman
8.    Milkmaid    1901
9.    Mohini Rugmangada    1899
10.    Mysore Khedda Camp
11.    Jagan Mandir Palace, Udaipur    1901
12.    Raja Raja Varma   
13.    Mr. Ramanatha Rao    1896
14.    Dadabhai Naoroji
15.    Hamsa and Damayanti    1899
16.    G T McKenzie   
17.    Mysore Stables    1904
18.    Mysore Khedda 1
19.    Mysore Khedda 2
20.    H B Grig, Esq
21.    Portrait Study
22.    Dance Pose 1
23.    Rajput Soldier    1901
24.    Brahmin Woman
25.    Rai Pannalal Mehta    1901
26.    Rana Pratap    1901
27.    Danse Pose 2
28.    A Student
29.    Reading the Newspaper    1904
30.    Mrs. Ramanatha Rao    1891
31.    Head peon
32.    Mohini and Rugmangada
33.    Udaipur Palace    1901
34.    Rest
35.    Ravana Carrying Sita    1895
36.    Johar
37.    Rama Breaks the Bow   
38.    Bhil Woman
39.    Lady in Prison
40.    Col. W D Brodie Ketchen    1890
41.    Amma Thampuran of Mavelikkara   
42.    Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran   
43.    Maharani Lakshmi Bai    1883   


No comments: