Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair (Varma)

Last updated

Nair lady Adorning Her Hair
Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair.jpg
Artist Raja Ravi Varma
Year1873
TypeOil on Canvas

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.

Contents

Background

Raja Ravi Varma was born on 1848 in Kerala, India. Ravi Varma was primarily known for incorporating Hindu themes and ideals with European styles. Varma was one of the first Indian artists to make use of oil painting and lithographic methods. [1] Ravi Varma was first exposed to European methods of painting when he watched a Dutch painter when he arrived to do some paintings for the palace. [2]

Through trial and error, Ravi Varma had learned rudimentary techniques of oil painting. After deciding that painting would be a full-time profession, he had gone on to do some portraits and other small tasks for important local people. After returning to Trivandrum, Varma had been commissioned to do oil paintings for the Travancore Royal Court. After receiving an award for this task, he had gone on to paint The Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, which was to be his first point of recognition in the national and international level. [2]

Subject and themes

Although Ravi Varma was trained in the European styles of painting——employing the techniques for illusionism and oil painting——Ravi Varma's style was primarily Malayali. [3] The painting's subject includes a Nair lady adorning her hair in front of a mirror within a familiar household setting. [4] Ravi Varma used techniques that used realism, but evoked styles from European artists such as Botticelli and Renoir. A common theme found in Ravi Varma's paintings are that of domesticity and female beauty, based on native values. [5]

Ravi Varma's paintings of Nair women in general were seen as part of a turning point in the discourse on female sexuality within the matrilineal context. It has been described that a notable feature about Ravi Varma's paintings of such women were the passive beauty and unerotic sensuality. Of even greater significance was the image of domesticity that Ravi Varma had presented. [6]

Exhibition

The painting was awarded the first prize, the prestigious Governor's Gold Medal, when it was presented at the Madras Fine Arts Society Exhibition of 1873, bringing Raja Ravi Varma into the limelight. [7] [2] He also received a Certificate of Merit at the International Exhibition held in Vienna for the painting. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raja Ravi Varma</span> Indian painter from Kerala (1848–1906)

Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European academic art with a purely Indian sensibility and iconography. Specially, 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilimanoor Palace</span>

Kilimanoor Palace is a palace located in Kilimanoor, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the birthplace of painter Raja Ravi Varma and Raghava Varma, the father of king Marthanda Varma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. V. Devan</span> Indian sculptor, (1928 – 2014)

Madathil Vasudevan, popularly identified as M. V. Devan, was an Indian painter, sculptor, writer, art critic and orator. Besides his artistic works, he was also known for his architectural designs for a number of cultural institutions as well as for his contributions in founding Kerala Kalapeetom, Kochi-based cultural organization, Malayala Kalagramam, an art village in New Mahe and Kalagramam, another art village in Kollam. A former chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, he was a recipient of several honours including the Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, the Vayalar Award and the Mathrubhumi Literary Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namboothiri (artist)</span> Indian painter and sculptor

Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri, better known simply as Namboothiri, is an Indian painter and sculptor, known for his line art and copper relief works. He has done illustrations 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 is reported to be one of the most prolific literary illustrators in the world. He is a former chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi. The Akademi awarded him the Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2003. He is also a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director.

<i>Anandabhadram</i> 2005 Indian film

Anandabhadram is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language dark fantasy horror film based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameshwaran. The film was the debut Malayalam film venture of director Santosh Sivan and actress Riya Sen. The story concerns ghosts, spirits, and black magic. The film stars Prithviraj, Kavya Madhavan, Manoj K Jayan, Kalabhavan Mani and Biju Menon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travancore royal family</span> Ruling family of travancore

The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. They gave up their ruling rights in 1949 when Travancore merged with India and their political pension privileges were abolished in 1971. The family is descended from the Ay/Venad family and the Chera dynasty.

Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts is located in Mavelikkara, Kerala, India. The college offers undergraduate degree course in fine arts, including in sculpture, painting and applied arts. This government institution is affiliated with the University of Kerala and is under the administration of Directorate of Technical Education, Govt. of Kerala.

T.A.S Menon is former principal of the Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts Mavelikara, Kerala, India. He is a former executive member of the Kerala Lalita Kala Akademi, former jury member of the Raja Ravi Varma Award, former executive member of the Kerala Kalamandalam, Examination board chief of the institute of Mural painting, and a patron of the Narendra Prasad foundation.

<i>Makaramanju</i> 2011 film by Lenin Rajendran

Makaramanju is a 2011 Malayalam language romantic drama film written and directed by Lenin Rajendran. The film is about celebrated painter Raja Ravi Varma's life at a certain stage in his life. It also narrates the story of epic character Pururavas. Cinematographer Santhosh Sivan and Karthika Nair appear in the lead roles, as it was also the latter' major Malayalam debut.

Ravi Varma Raja (1745–1793) was a Samantan Nair warrior prince of the Royal House of Zamorins from Calicut who fought a two-decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and later the British East India Company in 1793.

C. K. Ramakrishnan Nair, popularly known as C.K. Ra, was an Indian painter, writer, and teacher of fine arts. An advocate of creative freedom, Ramakrishnan Nair was credited with bringing modernism in Kerala painting and heralded the 'Ra phase' in Kerala painting. He served as the superintendent of the Trivandrum School of Arts and later became the chairman of Kerala Lalita Kala Akademi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Indian painting</span> Movement in Indian painting

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.

Thalassery was a trade hub where Chinese, Arab, and Jewish traders had considerable influence in the spice market before that the Greeks and Romans was in the trade. It was the European invasion that brought significant change as they enforced the trade with their military.

<i>There Comes Papa</i> 1893 painting by Raja Ravi Varma

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.

<i>Galaxy of Musicians</i> Painting by Raja Ravi Varma

Galaxy of Musicians is a painting by the Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma.

<i>Shakuntala Patra-lekhan</i> Painting by Raja Ravi Varma

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangala Bayi</span> Indian artist

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.

References

  1. Om Books ET, p. 181.
  2. 1 2 3 Menon 2011, p. 193.
  3. Pal 2011, p. 60.
  4. Economic and Political Weekly 1991, p. 2464.
  5. Bhushan & Garfield 2011, p. 233.
  6. India International Centre Quarterly 1995, p. 162.
  7. Studies in History 1986, p. 180.
  8. Menon 2011, p. 194.

Sources