| Galaxy of Musicians | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Raja Ravi Varma |
| Year | 1889 |
| Type | Oil on Canvas |
| Location | Jaganmohan Palace |
Galaxy of Musicians is an 1889 painting by the Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma.
| Galaxy of Musicians | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Artist | Raja Ravi Varma |
| Year | 1889 |
| Type | Oil on Canvas |
| Location | Jaganmohan Palace |
Galaxy of Musicians is an 1889 painting by the Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma.
The painting shows a group of Indian women from various backgrounds playing their traditional instruments; [1] from the Muslim courtesan on the right to the Nair woman playing a veena on the left and Marathi woman at centre the painting emphasizes the dresses and adornments of women from all over India. [2] Originally painted for the Maharaja of Mysore, Ravi Varma focused in one painting on each group's customs and how they all characterized music. [3]
Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian painter and artist. His works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European academic art with a purely Indian sensibility and iconography. Especially, he was notable for making affordable lithographs of his paintings available to the public, which greatly enhanced his reach and influence as a painter and public figure. His lithographs increased the involvement of common people with fine arts and defined artistic tastes among the common people. Furthermore, his religious depictions of Hindu deities and works from Indian epic poetry and Puranas have received profound acclaim. He was part of the royal family of erstwhile Parappanad, Malappuram district.
The Nair also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom historically bore the name 'Nair'. These people lived, and continue to live, in the area which is now the Indian state of Kerala. Their internal caste behaviours and systems are markedly different between the people in the northern and southern sections of the area, although there is not very much reliable information on those inhabiting the north.
Amrita Sher-Gil was a Hungarian-Indian painter. She has been called "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a pioneer in modern Indian art. Drawn to painting from an early age, Sher-Gil started formal lessons at the age of eight. She first gained recognition at the age of 19, for her 1932 oil painting Young Girls. Sher-Gil depicted everyday life of the people in her paintings.
Mundum neriyatum is the traditional clothing of women in Kerala, a state in southwestern India. It is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the sari which covered only the lower part of the body. In the mundum neriyatum, the most basic traditional piece is the mundu or lower garment which is the ancient form of the sari denoted in Malayalam as tuṇi, while the nēriyatu forms the upper garment the mundu. The mundum neriyatum consists of two pieces of cloth, and could be worn in either the traditional style with the nēriyatu tucked inside the blouse, or in the modern style with the nēriyatu worn over the left shoulder.
Swayamvaram is a 1972 Indian Malayalam-language drama film co-written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, starring Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. Notable smaller roles were played by Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhavani, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, and Bharath Gopi. The film depicts the life of a couple—Vishwam (Madhu) and Sita (Sharada)—who have married against their parents' wishes and want to start a new life at a new place. The title is an allusion to the ancient Indian practice of a girl of marriageable age choosing a husband from among a list of suitors.
Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri, better known as Artist Namboothiri or simply Namboothiri, was an Indian painter and sculptor, known for his line art and copper relief works. He illustrated for many Malayalam writers such as Thakazhy Shivasankara Pillai, Kesavadev, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Uroob, S. K. Pottekkatt, Edasseri Govindan Nair, and V.K.N., and was one of the most prolific literary illustrators of India. He was also a chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi. The Akademi awarded him the Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2003. He was also a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director.
Attoor Ravi Varma was an Indian poet and translator of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of modern Malayalam poetry, Ravi Varma is a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation, besides many other honours. The Government of Kerala honoured him with their highest literary award, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, in 2012 and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi inducted him as their distinguished fellow in 2017.
The modern Indian art movement in Indian painting is considered to have begun in Calcutta in the late nineteenth century. The old traditions of painting had more or less died out in Bengal and new schools of art were started by the British. Initially, protagonists of Indian art such as Raja Ravi Varma drew on Western traditions and techniques including oil paint and easel painting. A reaction to the Western influence led to a revival in primitivism, called as the Bengal school of art, which drew from the rich cultural heritage of India. It was succeeded by the Santiniketan school, led by Rabindranath Tagore's harking back to idyllic rural folk and rural life. Despite its country-wide influence in the early years, the importance of the school declined by the 'forties' and now it is as good as dead.
Three Girls, also known as Group of Young Girls, is a painting by Hungarian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil. It was painted in 1935 shortly after Sher-Gil returned to India from Europe in 1934. The painting won the Gold Medal at the annual exhibition of the Bombay Art Society in 1937. The painting was part of a batch sent to Nawab Salar Jang of Hyderabad who later rejected them all.
Anjanibai Malpekar was a noted Indian classical singer, belonging to the Bhendibazaar gharana of Hindustani classical music.
Arpana Caur is an Indian contemporary painter and graphic artist. Arpana Caur exhibits dynamism and deep insight in her depictions of women's conditions in modern India. A self-taught artist, Caur's portrayals of women in urban environments reflect her concerns with the issues of our time: life and death, violence, the environment, and women's issues. Clothing is a recurring theme in her work, both reinforcing and undermining the established image of women.
Nair lady Adorning Her Hair is an 1873 painting by Raja Ravi Varma. The painting depicts a domestic scene in which a Nair woman adorning her hair with a garland of flowers in front of a mirror. The painting was notable for being the first major award-winning work that Ravi Varma had completed. Receiving praise at the international and national level, the painting had brought the young Ravi Varma into the attention of the global artistic community, as well as leading him on to later become one of the most well known modern Indian painters.
There Comes Papa is an 1893 painting by the Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma. The painting focuses on Varma's daughter and grandson, looking towards the left at an approaching father. Evoking both Indian and European style, the painting has been noted by critics for its symbolism regarding of the Nair matrilineal practices.
A Reclining Nair lady is a 1902 painting by the Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma. The painting features a recumbent Nair woman, with a book open in front of her while attended by a maid. Varma draw this painting inspired from Edward Manet's 1863 painting Olympia.
Shakuntala Patra-lekhan is an 1876 painting by Raja Ravi Varma. The work depicts Shakuntala laying on grass, writing a letter to her lover Dushyanta. The work had won praise for Ravi Varma when it was presented at the Madras Fine Arts Exhibition of 1876. Later acquired by the Duke of Buckingham, the painting was subsequently used in the English translation of Kalidasa's Shakuntalam.
Mangala Bayi Thampuratti (1865–1954), known as Mangala Bayi, was an artist from Kerala, India, whose portraits depicted primarily domestic and devotional themes in everyday life in Travancore. She belonged to the Travancore royal family, and her brother, Raja Ravi Verma, was also a renowned Indian painter.
Hill Women is an oil on canvas painting by Hungarian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil, completed after she painted Hill Men in the winter of 1935 at Simla. Depicting a girl among three young women, it was influenced by the poor surrounding Sher-Gil's home in Simla, India.