Artist Research

18th February 2022

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Artist Research

Raja Ravi Varma

Raja Ravi Varma was a South Indian traditional artist and among the first to incorporate academic realism as well as Western portraiture into visualizations of Indian mythology. He is regarded as one of the best classical painters of modern times.

Background

Varma came from a privileged childhood with close relations to the Travancore royal family who provided him with an organized system of education where he learnt about all aspects of Indian science and had and early initiation into religious texts and the recitation of Sanskrit. His deep understanding and vast range of Sanskrit and Malayalam religious and classical literature would soon become the basis of his works while becoming a painter. After being married to the youngest of the 2 queens he became closer to the royal family where he was granted opportunities to study rare art books improving his English and naturally opened his horizons in history and the potential of oil painting. He became aware of many different styles of painting, Tanjore being one of them and this would remain one of the many influences of Varma’s visual representation. Varma was often inspired by the common place and the ordinary, painting domestic life in the palace and everyday trivial occurrences. I feel like I can relate to him being inspired by the everyday and ordinary as I often find myself being fascinated by that too and I think that is where my love for drawing and painting people comes from.

I found it interesting that Varma actually completed some of his paintings with the assistance of his younger brother when travelling around India and that some of the paintings share both of their signatures. It’s like modern day collaboration but go back 140 years. Although he was infusing both European realism with traditional Indian art, he gained the disapproval of many practitioners and philosophers of classical Indian art as traditional Indian artwork has a very fantasy-esque style that I love, but I also appreciate Varma fuse between the two different styles.

My opinions

I originally came across him because I found an artwork of his, titled “Shakuntala”, that I really liked and as I am trying to learn more about India, I thought that it was fitting just based on the look and traditional aspects of his work. I think in terms of formal qualities, the technique, colour palette and general subject matter relate very well to my work. In terms of the concept behind his work, the references to Indian mythology portrayed using western techniques greatly relates to not only the conceptual matter behind my paintings but me as a painter. My painting style is very much like European realism so I think Varma is a great artist to look at as he fuses that with traditional Indian art and themes which are a big part of Indian culture. Many traditional paintings depict Indian gods and deities which is important for me to learn from as I am using this project to learn about India and their culture/what was once part of my own culture generations down the line. Varma’s art style is classed as academic realism which is an art style that was produced under the influences of European Academies of art which he has combined with Indian sensibility and iconography and with this he is also considered to be the ‘father of modern Indian art’.

As the first Indian artist I have properly looked into I think Varma has given me a great insight and deeper understanding of certain aspects of Indian art. I think the main thing he has helped me with is a better perspective on realism painting and how to paint something really captivating, but also when it comes to his more spiritual looking pieces, his composition is something I will take the most inspiration from.

Amrita Sher-Gil

Amrita Sher-Gil is a historic figure in the history of India so I think it is important for me to look at her and her work. Sher-Gil’s work derives heavily from precolonial Indian art styles and although she is considered as one of the greatest Avant Garde female artists of the early 20th century, her portrait subject matter and colour palette relate to my work so for that reason she is a great reference for my work. In addition, her exploration of precolonial Indian art styles and their culture is a concept that I think lies parallel to the exploration of my Indian roots.

Background

In 1934 she returned to India in search of her Indian roots and many of her early paintings evoked the poverty, sadness and monumental gravity of the people she saw around her. Her painting “Group of Young Girls”, is a powerful piece of work painted in earthy colours that won a gold medal from Bombay Art Society in 1937, portrays three, young girls who await pensively for the future that lay in store for them. A significant theme presented throughout a lot of her work is a kind of melancholy and sadness that she found in India, a feeling of isolation while at the same time being part of a group. She kind of shows this through the expressions of her muses and muted colour scheme in her paintings. Bulk Raj Anand observes, “She had seen the Indian people from the point of view of the outsider, who wanted to become an insider”.

My opinions

I really relate to the many themes running through Sher-Gils work from the feeling of being alone, even in a group to the latter quote from Raj of seeing India from the point of view of an outsider, but not necessarily wanting to become an insider, rather to gain more of an in-depth knowledge of the people of India and its history. In addition, I also relate to her in terms of the search of her Indian roots because I too, am doing exactly that. She writes “I am an individualist, evolving a new technique, which, though not necessarily Indian in the traditional sense of the word, will yet be fundamentally Indian in spirit. With the eternal significance of form and colour I interpret India and, principally the life of the Indian poor on the plane that transcends the pane of mere sentiment interest.” I think this is important to keep in consideration when creating my work as I am not trying to copy things that have already been done but rather fuse the traditional with the new and take bits and pieces to just create work that I feel shows me and what I have learnt.

Jivya Soma Mashe

Jivya Soma Mashe was an artist who was one of the most widely recognized names in the tradition of Warli paintings. Warli painting is a traditional painting style that originated in tribes within Maharashtra, India. This art form can be traced back to the 10th Century A.D, although it was only discovered in the early 1970’s. It depicts daily tribal life as well as various forms of nature, in addition to an absence of traditional mythological creatures which are usually seen in traditional Indian painting. However circular patterns are common occurrences which are indicative of their belief that death is just another beginning.

In terms of the visual and technical side of it Mashe’s art was inspired by folklore and stories of celebration that are narrated to the children in his tribe from a very early age. His images were based on simple forms, such as the circle borrowed from the moon and sun, the triangle borrowed from mountains and trees, and the square, which has no natural equivalent and is therefore used to symbolize sacred enclosures. Human bodies are represented with two triangles, which are given and extraordinary quality of life and movement.

My opinions

I think this artform and artist is a great reference for my work as I have focused a lot around mandalas and patterns so far and it provides a different meaning to circular patterns whether I’m doing mandalas or not. Moreover, I could take inspiration from these patterns and the meanings behind them to include in my work what would normally be obvious when painted realistically. Representing things in real life using patterns and simple (almost) abstract images is quite common in a few cultural art forms, including traditional Indian art forms.

This gives me inspiration for how I could develop my own mandalas that have hidden meanings based on the shapes I use and what they represent. In my work I have been looking for ways that I could include references to the circus as that is where I initially formed this project idea and I think that incorporating Warli painting into my work could be a nice way of doing this subtly.

I think that the patterns used also have great movement to them especially the spirals which really evokes the feeling of daily tribal life it is supposed to have. The white is also really nice over the really earthy tones in the background. It is painted with a great precision which I love as that's something that I strive for in my work except in more lifelike ways.

Thanjavur paintings & Kerala Mural painting

Thanjavur paintings are ornate, intricate paintings often depicting mythological figures from the Hindu religion. The origins of this artform can be traced back to the 16th Century and the Chola empire. This art was often used not only for religious purposes, but also to symbolize the owner’s (owner of the painting) artistic inclination, class and tastes. Tanjore paintings were widely practiced in the Maratha court which received high praise from Maratha and Nayak princes. They usually depict deities and gods all relating to lord Krishna, but birds, figures, flowers and animals are also painted. The theme of these paintings is inspired by the Bhakti movement which was prevalent at the that time. They are known for their vibrant colours and embossed semi-precious stones, mirror pieces, and gold-leaf work but a distinguishing feature is that the central figure is usually enclosed by curtains, pillars, or some sort of decorated archway. The work is usually embossed with real gold but as time has passed, instead of real gold, gold milk has been used instead.

In terms of the process, the canvas of Thanjavur paintings is usually made of wood from a jackfruit tree. A layer of cloth is then pasted over top and a paste of limestone and binding material is spread. After this a detailed but rough sketch of the painting is created. The same mixture is used to add highlights to the embellishments with a brush to create a 3D effect. Precious, semi-precious stones are embossed in the appropriate places like pillars, studded curtains, clothes, jewelry etc. The colours used are usually that of natural pigments and dyes.

My opinions

I think this art form is a good reference to my practice as my work generally involves a great deal of precision and detail so it makes sense for me to look at artists/art forms that do just that. Moreover, the patterns and forms within these paintings could also be inspiration for patterns other than mandalas to use in my work especially when it comes to pillar design and things like that as I have had a few ideas to involve pillars, archways or some form of patterned stonework in my artwork. I think a good thing to take from this as well is the textures used in the paintings and how I could involve texture in my work? Whether it be thick layers of paint or modelling pastes and other 3D mixtures.

Another thing that I could consider in my own work is the composition. In Thanjavur painting there is always a central subject and I love how royal the subject usually looks. I could take inspiration from their pose so I know how to pose my own subjects in the paintings as I have been struggling with finding references and figuring out how to pose my subjects.

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Kerala Mural Painting

Another artform that I am looking at is Kerala Mural Painting. This is also a traditional art form like Thanjavur painting that dates back to the 9th-12th centuries. It depicts mythological figures from Hindu religion. However, paintings in this art form aren’t quite as ornate and more importance is given to the motifs, patterns and symbols used in the works as these help identify the figure in the painting rather than the face of the figure.

The scriptural basis of these paintings can be found in the Sanskrit texts, 'Chithrasoothram (Chitrasutra is a part of the Vishnu Dharmottara Purana, a book written in Sanskrit about 1500 years ago. It contains 287 short verses in nine chapters and a few prose in the second chapter. There is no other book on painting as detailed as the Chitrasutra. This book answers hundreds of questions about what a painting is, why, its purpose, role, relationship with the painter, connoisseurs, and other arts. Chitrasutra will be useful to understand the true Indian painting.). The paintings themselves have a theatrical feel that remind me of theatre stills. They depict Hindu deities and gods like most Traditional Indian artforms but the anatomy of everything in them is that of a regional style in Kerala.

Traditional murals used panchavarana (Means 5 colours in Sanskrit) exclusively which were red, yellow, green, black and white with white being the colour of the wall itself. The colour of the characters is chosen according to their characteristics as scripted in the relevant Hindu scriptures. Spiritual, divine and dharmic characters (satwika) are depicted in shades of green. Those influenced towards power & materialistic wealth (rajasic) are painted in shades of red to golden yellow. Evil, wicked and mean characters (tamasic) are generally painted in white or black.

My Opinion

I think if I am to take any inspiration from this form of art It would be colour based and composition based. Maybe to find more meaning in the colours I decide to use as colour has significance across most of India with red being associated with wealth and white being associated with death and funerals. Moreover, I love the composition of the murals and how they seem to tell a story with both good and bad characters. I always tell stories in my head about the people I paint and it’s the same when I play character creation games. I make up a story in my head so I think it would be nice to play on that in my paintings maybe?

Although the paintings are extremely simple in their painting style there is an incredibly high amount of detail in every aspect of the painting, especially in the clothing garments and background which is something that I have been thinking a lot about recently in my own work. I haven't really been sure how to bring more into the background without making the painting look confused. However, I have got some ideas for subject matter for the background. I just have to figure out the style to paint it in as it needs to be balanced with the realism in my paintings.

S. Elayaraja

S. Elayaraja was a contemporary artist from Tamil Nadu who painted realistic oil portraits of south Indian women and certain other traditional scenes. He unfortunately passed away recently; however, he definitely left a huge impression on the Indian art scene and his work is formally very interesting to look at. He had an exceptional ability to capture the likeness and personality of his subject whether that be pure joy and happiness, curiosity or a feeling of sadness and loneliness. Most of his paintings outline true Indian village scenes especially from his home (Tamil Nadu) and are known for their realistic beauty and composition, similarly to that of Raja Ravi Varma in terms of subject matter, however his colour palette is darker and bolder. The main difference between Varma and Elayaraja is that Varma’s paints women from Hindu mythology to represent the nostalgic ideals of his religious identity, whereas Elayaraja has chosen to paint women to showcase the simple beauty of his Dravidian cultural Identity. No aspect of his subject is forgotten as he puts equal effort into every aspect of his paintings. He doesn’t even miss a crack on the walls which I really relate to as I often keep on painting until I have captured every detail possible. Otherwise, the painting feels unfinished to me.

I think Elayaraja is a great reference for my practice as the skill, technique, media and subject matter is mirrored in both practices. Everything from the way he uses colour so expertly to his perceptive eye is something I can learn from.

I wanted to include a lot more images of his work because I love it that much but It would be far too much.

Nimisha Bhanot

Nimisha Bhanot is a Canadian Indian artist whose work often questions the role of females through a cultural lens. Three of her series “Badass Desi Pinups”, “Badass Bahus” and “Badass Brides” all consist of paintings portraying Indian women in traditional clothing breaking the norms set for women in Indian culture. Her work relates directly to mine in terms of formal elements within her work like pattern, traditional clothing and realistic portraiture. However, the agenda of her work is quite the opposite and triggered a point of reflection within my own work. The reference images I use show a very traditional Indian woman and I guess you could say that is what is expected of Indian women, but not every Indian woman looks like that. Throughout India there is a sense of East meets west as some people stick to traditions but there is a large amount of people who have adopted more western clothing.

In terms of facial expressions, I remember having an Individual tutorial with Fay where she noted one of the main things about S Elayaraja's work was that 'all of the women seem extremely happy'. It was like an idealised version of an Indian woman. Bhanot plays with this in her work like with the use of cigarettes, expressionless faces, or even just naturally smiling women who would be deemed as 'bad' for not following the traditions of Indian women.

I guess what I can take forwards from her work is the way she presents fabrics but more importantly thinking about how I present the people I paint. Wether that be makeup, pose, expression etc.

Thukral and Tagra

Thukral and Tagra are a duo whose work look at “the reality of old values mixed with their ideas of modern times in the Punjabi culture of Northern India.” (Ocula, 2022) Their work is quite surreal and abstract in the sense that there are elements of real life but the strange is portrayed as real in parallel. While their concept and a lot of their formal elements don’t relate to my practise or paintings, I think that they are a good reference simply because the colour palette and realism somewhat matches with my own. However, this reference is also simply another example of where the technique of realism is used to bring life to the surreal.

Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley is an African American painter who is changing the face of portraiture. His paintings feature black figures against bright, patterned backgrounds. His agenda with these paintings is to challenge viewers’ perceptions of how black masculinity has become synonymous with fear and violence in the US. Wiley’s work relates to my work formally in the use of portraits and patterns for effect. While his concept is a bit more political, I feel that the calm aesthetic nature in which it is portrayed matches how I compose my paintings. In his work he often references old masters paintings for the pose of a figure similarly to me. I find myself often looking at the Indian masters paintings as a guide for my composition. Wiley depicts his larger than life figures in a heroic manner, giving them poses that connote power and spiritual awakening. In my own work I often choose poses that evoke a feeling of power and strength while also displaying beauty.

Lina Iris Viktor

Lina Iris Viktor is a British-Liberian artist who creates paintings of black women in ornate outfits against beautifully intricate backgrounds. Viktor uses iconography and patterns from her South African heritage within her work, along with a main colour palette of black, gold, white and ultramarine blue. In terms of form, Viktor’s work uses cultural symbols in conjunction with black female figures to represent feminine power, divinity and a connection to the artist’s cultural heritage. In addition, while she uses patterns and motifs from South African culture as well as black female figures, I use Indian female figures along with Indian patterns, symbols and motifs in my work to create a visual representation of my exploration into my Indian heritage. Also, I think her use of colour symbolism could be brought into my work as well (obviously not the same colours). Moreover, part of her concept is to celebrate her heritage, which is an important part of the agenda in my practice.

Harmonia Rosales

Harmonia Rosales is an Afro-Cuban American artist who creates powerful, empowering portraits featuring black women. The backgrounds of her paintings often have patterns and textures resembling Renaissance paintings, which combined with black female figures aim to displace the white male driven portrayals of society from the paintings of that era that are still prominent and revered today. Rosales' use of formal qualities of realism and portraiture within her work as well as the use of symbols and patterns directly correlate with my work. The notion of displacement is something I think I could possibly experiment with subtly in my work as it could produce some very interesting results.