Art and war can sound complete opposites - war oppresses and destroys while art creates. But they actually coexist and war is a crucible of art. Art has been used in war situations in a number of ways…before, during and after. Why? Because art is an influencer of thought that reaches all segments of societies and sends out a powerful message for or against warmongering. It provokes, so it can change the way people feel and think. War art can be made to support it, oppose it, to demoralise opponents and to recover from the catastrophe of it. Artists blend colours, textures and patterns to depict wartime ideologies. Art has been carved from the wreckage of the battle - bullets, shell casings and other debris - often producing unsettling accounts of the calamity. Tools of cruelty have been turned into swords of compassion and the dead have also lived on in the hands of the artists. Political leaders – monarchs, dictators and democrats have commissioned artists to create propaganda in order to garner support and to urge the public to make material sacrifices and take risks. These artists have depicted the opposing side as aggressive and brutal in order to stimulate critical reflections of animosity for the opposing side. To evoke a sense of nationalism and pride among the citizens, they have depicted battlefield victory and glory. On the other hand, anti-war organisations have commissioned artists to subvert sympathy for wars. Also, some artists have been official appointees in war situations, sent by their governments to create a record of what was going on or to offer visual slogans to aid morale. The lessons of art and war are entwined, and art stands as a constant reminder of the hard learnt lessons of the past & present, and the direction of the future. As we stand now in 2022 with Russia’s war on Ukraine entering the second month, RtistiQ has decided to use art and the power of technology to run an NFT art auction of the works of Ukrainian artists to raise money for them. These artists are suffering the horrific consequences of the assault in Ukraine. It is a pragmatic but a different use case, and we hope it can help garner support for these artists thanks to a world of cyber-liberate population. It is also an opportunity for the speculators of this initiative to own tradable and investible alternative assets which ought to prosper in times to come. Refer to our blog article: Sending Help to Ukrainian Artists In This Hour of Maximum Need Through A Charity NFT Art Auction to learn more about the whys of this initiative by RtistiQ We hope through RtistiQ we can continue to use our platform in innovative ways to power the future of art experience around the world while the world is signalling the move to a web3.0 era. References: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/remembering-americas-official-artists-war-180952321/ https://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2018/01/05/five-ways-art-and-war-are-related/

RtistiQ

31 Mar 2022

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The multifaceted work of Ukrainian artists has been welcomed by art buyers and collectors at home and throughout the world. But the war on Ukraine has ravaged the lives of these talented and driven artists and for the entire country as well. The events taking place feel unreal. Civilians have been forced to flee their homes and leave behind what they own due to this humanitarian crisis. Is seeing it in the news enough to make a difference? We think not. The crisis demands that we stand with the people who are being impacted by it and act in our capacities with a human-centric approach. So many Ukrainian artists have lost their homes, families and everything they had. They have lost the paintings they have worked so hard to create. Their paintings were both sources of inspiration and income, and now these precious pieces are gone or destroyed. The RtistiQ team had announced last week an upcoming non-fungible token (NFT) Drop of Women Artists, but given the current situation, we have decided to postpone it for a few weeks and instead give our fullest support to the Ukrainian artists right now. Art is in our spirit and in our destiny and to support these Ukrainian artists, RtistiQ will be launching a charity NFT art auction of their works. This is a corporate social responsibility initiative auction that will run from 7-10 April. Bidding is open to everyone. There will be no commissions charged to the artists in this auction and the entire mint cost and transaction cost will be borne by RtistiQ. It is urgent and these artists need emergency aid, shelter & supplies, and that’s where the proceeds from this first-ever charity auction of NFT artworks by RtistiQ will go. We at RtistiQ aim to give Ukrainian artists hope through our online art platform. As we raise money for a noble cause, we hope that the world can show it’s support for the Ukrainian artists by participating in this deed. We are ready to step up their art into the digital world so that the world can experience the metaverse first-hand - and in the process raise vital funds for these artists who are now in dire need of them in this particularly critical time.

RtistiQ

17 Mar 2022

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Lawrence Wong, Singapore's finance minister, announced today that "prevailing income tax rules will apply" to Income derived from non-fungible token (NFT) transactions. He stated that the tax treatment and economics "will be determined based on the nature and use of the NFT." According to Wong, some individuals may also derive capital gains from such transactions. Those profits won't be deducted because the country does not have a regime of taxing capital gains. Different countries have been releasing Taxation plans for NFTs and Crypto Assets, including Australia, the United States of America, and India. The announcement has clarified the Taxation regime for NFT transactions treated as Income or Capital Gains to be considered under regular tax brackets in Singapore. On the other hand, India has taken a different approach with a proposed higher tax bracket of 30% for any Crypto and NFT transactions. Blockchain-based NFTs serve as tokenized cryptographic assets to represent ownership of unique items. The acceptance of crypto is growing globally within the mainstream. Also, NFTs gained prominence from the end of 2020 and took a significant leap in 2021 with a transaction volume estimated at $41 Billion. Singapore has one of the lowest income tax rates in Asia. The country offers several tax breaks and boasts a relatively lower corporate tax rate and top personal tax bracket, plus it does not levy taxes on capital gains. However, the country has plans to raise income taxes for the high earners.

RtistiQ

11 Mar 2022

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With the advent of the 19th century, Indian art underwent significant changes in production and distribution with the first daguerreotype photography, Battala woodcut prints, Kalighat paintings, and lithographs. Now art came to be mass-produced, and Raja Ravi Varma led this movement through his oleographs. Largely credited as the man who brought the Gods home, Raja Ravi Varma redefined iconographic and aesthetic idiom in classical Indian art. Ravi Varma gave new meaning to collecting and owning art through his lithographic Press. This pioneering step made it possible for the common man to own a piece of art produced by the incredible Raja Ravi Varma! Credited for many-a-firsts, Raja Ravi Varma was world-renowned as the pioneering Indian painter that focused on perspective. He was also famous for using oil paint in his artworks. He led the pathbreaking approach by depicting Hindu gods and goddesses in a human form. His stories, settings, and scenes were replete with those of Hindu mythological works like Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas. We can say that he was the first Indian artist to gain widespread international fame at a time when painters and artisans largely remained either anonymous or unidentified; and the first to make his work available not just to a specific class of patrons but also to ordinary people by way of his oleographs. Artists and connoisseurs started converting canvas-based artworks into oleographs or chromolithographs in the 1830s. Europe was the first destination that saw the setting up of printing presses that made colorful lithographic art prints. Its demand soared on the back of commercialization in the 1860s. The process behind such reproduction was intricate. It helped artists to replicate on paper the brush strokes, textures, paintings, shades, hues, and colors of an oil painting. This held particular appeal to leading artists like Raja Ravi Varma. Until then, his artworks were available only to an exclusive group of affluent people. With these lithographs, the painter could expand access to his religious imagery far beyond his existing clientele. Raja Ravi Varma started The Ravi Varma Fine Art Lithographic Press in 1894 at Girgaum, later moving to Ghatkopar in Bombay, and finally shifted it to Malavli, near Lonavala, in 1899. The Press was the most extensive picture printing establishment in India and the most innovative. Along with hand-coloring, the process involved using as many woodblocks or litho-stones to match the colors and tones to transfer the image. It would take several months to produce an oleograph, depending on the number of colors in the original work. There is an interesting anecdote behind this work. The renowned painter was advised by Dewan Sir Tanjavur Madhava Row. He had a simple idea to meet the massive demand for replicas of his artworks. The painter could send his works to Europe, where his paintings could be replicated as oleographs. As it happened, this move led to a widespread clamor for Ravi Varma's works. Later, the painter and his brother Raja Raja Varma decided to set up and operate a press. For this, they took the help of Fritz Schleicher. He was instrumental in establishing the media and looking after its operations. In this venture, Ravi Varma partnered with a local entrepreneur, Govardhandas Khataumakhanji. The Ravi Varma Fine Art Lithographic Press commenced its operations in July 1894 with a chromolithograph, "Birth of Shakuntala" (Shakuntala/Sakoontala Janma). Two months after that (September 1894), the Press rolled out the oleographs of Lakshmi and Saraswati. This was considered highly radical for its times. This was because of a rampant tradition of restricting specific classes of society from accessing religious methods and places of worship. With the production of these two lithographs, several religious restrictions were crossed, thereby unilaterally democratizing all classes' equal access to the images of their beloved gods and goddesses. These images and many of those produced subsequently became objects of socio-religious and popular culture. The viewers conversed with these lithographs daily following a concept of 'darshan' ('seeing' a religious object) and 'prayer,' 'making these chromolithographs exceedingly important and relevant in the socio-cultural lives of households. The oleographs printed here were very popular and continued to be published in thousands for many years, even after the death of Raja Ravi Varma in 1906. Later, as each piece became unique and more valuable, many of Ravi Varma's oleographs were embellished with zardozi (gold and silver metallic threads), sequins, glitter, and beads. In today's day and age, these rare lithographs are prized collectibles. Check out the digital reproductions of these lithographs and more on our website: https://art.rtistiq.com/en/nftdrop/raja-ravi-varma-nft-auction. Raja Ravi Varma, Birth of Sakuntala (Shakuntala Janma) Image courtesy: Google Arts & Culture; Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation Raja Ravi Varma, (Lakshmi) Image courtesy: Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation Raja Ravi Varma, (Saraswati) Image courtesy: Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation

RtistiQ

18 Feb 2022

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Raja Ravi Varma, who brought the gods to life, imparted an ethereal aura to royalty and redefined feminine beauty with his timeless paintings. Overcoming flatness, flaccidity, and a lack of movement in the subject of earlier painting styles, Ravi Varma breathed a new life into classical Indian painting through his skillful combination of western academic realism and Indian narrative style. His creations, both mythological and social, evoke an emotional response in the viewer as they reveal myriad emotions on canvas, the psychological reactions of these emotions through their body language, gestures, and facial expressions. Though it is difficult to pick one iconic work of a painter whose works are ubiquitously known for their beauty and grace, colors, strokes, and finesse, his famous piece The Coquette (circa 1893) is an accurate representation of Ravi Varma's unique visual vocabulary filled with different registers of sensation, sensuality, symbolism, subtle metaphor without heightened drama, and a range of modes and meanings which resonate with social, cultural and artistic patterns. A beautiful woman holds a gooseberry as she looks directly at the viewer. Cast in an enigmatic and seductive avatar, the unknown woman clutches the edge of her saree as she playfully offers the fruit to the onlooker. Such was the admiration for this composition that the artist created another similar work titled Lady with a Fruit (1894), now housed at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Admittedly, this could have been a popular theme at the time since other artists like Sekhara Warrier also played with the piece of a woman and fruit and came up with versions such as Lady with Fruit Plate (1890). However, Warrier's depiction of an upper-caste Nair woman holding a plate full of plump orange-like fruits is similar to and different from Ravi Varma's The Coquette. The woman in Warrier's work is a Nair woman dressed in a transparent white methukattu (or mundu) since they were not permitted to wear a blouse or an upper garment as per their religious customs. Gazing languidly at the viewer, Warrier's Nair woman is more 'real' and earthly - a regular privileged woman from 19th-century Kerala. At the same time, Ravi Varma's Coquette is a softer, more delicate, and ethereal 'Apsara-esque' woman who is boldly seductive. Perhaps this is why the other two paintings have specific titles, as there are not many subtle and suggestive hints. Still, The Coquette is special because it is a more layered interpretation of the ideals of femininity and womanhood. The visible difference in modeling the faces and bodies of both women is also not lost on the viewers. Interestingly, even the Lady with a Fruit is considered slightly paler compared to The Coquette regarding the composition's details and richness. On closer examination of the style of the two paintings, one would realize that The Coquette has been painted with a high level of precision and detail. At the same time, Lady With A Fruit appears to be a more hurriedly made work, as the stroke work in the painting is remarkably different. This evocative and powerful image opens up various possibilities regarding what Ravi Varma was trying to convey through this work. The word "coquette" is defined as "a woman who likes to attract attention by behaving as if she is sexually interested in people, in a pleasant but not serious way." If the tilt of her head, her slightly parted red-tinged lips, and the provocative look in her eyes depicts the woman's cheerful flirting, the exquisite jewelry, the green velvet blouse laced with brocade, and the translucent pink silk saree embellished with gold threads speak of her upper-class status. Gooseberry is said to have grown from the drops of Amrit, the heavenly nectar that fell from the abode of gods. Thus, a beautiful fair-skinned woman holding a gooseberry could be Ravi Varma's modern visual re-interpretation of Vishnu's Mohini avatar in an imaginative combination of eroticism and innocence. Or, she could be a Ravi Varma prototype of an earthly Apsara (celestial nymph) tantalizing her viewers with the fruit-bearing nectar of immortality. Or, it could be the artist's way of indicating the woman's pregnant state. As the genuine modernist he was, Raja Ravi Varma glorified women as Goddesses and the Goddesses as women. The Coquette seems to be an attempt in a similar vein without the overt sexualization or meaningless glorification of a young woman featured in the portrait. Even today, Ravi Varma's depiction of the Indian female form leaves us spellbound as his Devis, Nayikas, Apsaras, Maharanis, and many unknown women effortlessly transcend the real and the ideal. It seems like this painting was Ravi Varma's tribute to these women as he imparted each of their most distinctive qualities to this nameless woman called The Coquette. This painting is a part of the first-ever Exclusive Raja Ravi Varma NFT Auction. Check more on the auction details and join our waiting list here. Ravi Varma Coil Tampuran, The Coquette, Travancore, circa 1893 (Image courtesy: Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation) Raja Ravi Varma, Woman Holding a Fruit, late 19th century (Image courtesy: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Google Arts & Culture) Sekhara Warrier, Lady with Fruit Plate, 1890 (Image courtesy: Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation; Google Arts & Culture)

RtistiQ

11 Feb 2022

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An artist ahead of his time, Raja Ravi Varma pushed the boundaries of Indian art and image-making and in many ways redefined iconography. The artist who belonged to the same time as some of the greatest European artists of the time like Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, and was most likely influenced by it is likely his style was influenced by artists such as Vermeer, Raphael, Rembrandt, and David, Ingres, Ravi Varma pioneered salon art in India; remarkably having never travelled outside the country or trained in an art school. Deliberately moving away from buxom anatomies, large-sized heads, droopy eyes, gaudy costumes and jewellery, heightened chiaroscuro effects, dark misty landscape settings, and palatial backgrounds, Ravi Varma’s realistic interpretations and portrayals of gods and goddesses and historical events left a deep indelible impression on the popular visual culture even to this day. From his early Tanjore-style bejewelled paintings to mass-produced oleographs, Ravi Varma brought many popular stories to life with an illusionistic flair that mirrored the society of his time. Having mastered the oil medium he adapted Western Academic naturalism to “pure Indian sensibilities”, an example being Édouard Manet’s Olympia being adapted into Ravi Varma’s Reclining Nair Lady. In the artwork, we see a fair-skinned affluent Nair woman recumbent on a velvet couch being attended by her dark-skinned maid as she gazes directly at the viewer. Believed to have been modelled on the heroine of the popular Malayalam novel Indulekha by O.C. Menon, the painting alludes to Manet’s masterpiece of a nude woman (Olympia) lying on a bed and her black female servant bringing her flowers. The orchid in her hair, bracelet, pearl earrings and the oriental shawl on which she lies are symbols of wealth and sensuality. Since Ravi Varma operated in a different socio-cultural milieu he transfigured an unabashed Olympia into a fully-clothed but equally bold Indulekha. Coming up with his unique visual storytelling, the artist offers us a peek into the world of erudite and worldly Indulekha. Painted in 1902, the heroine is shown as an educated woman fond of reading and capable of holding her own, unlike other Raja Ravi Varma sensual mythological and sometimes coy heroines. Published in 1889, O.C Menon’s Indulekha dealt with societal constraints on the romantic love of a young educated Nair woman in 19th century Kerala. In order to portray Indulekha’s fiercely independent spirit, Ravi Varma supplanted Olympia’s boudoir to an upper-caste woman from the Malabar region of India. As someone who painted many women from aristocratic and noble families, Ravi Varma’s works were documentation of their lifestyle and their society. In this painting, a quintessentially Malayalam heroine Indulekha can be seen wearing a mundum neryathum (a two-set upper and lower garment that eventually evolved into a saree), kasu malai (garland of coins), ruby-studded gold bangles, earrings and necklaces, and the top knot on her hair is bedecked with flowers, while her servant almost merges into the background as she fans her mistress. The naturalistic finesse and three-dimensional quality lend a sense of volume and perspective to this composition where we can feel the gauziness of the Nair lady’s mundum neryathum. She lies atop a narrow bed covered with a silk throw and a blue pillow. Like Olympia, the Nair lady also holds the gaze of the viewer while languidly resting her head on her hand. As much as the painting draws inspiration from Monet’s Olympia it also borrows narrative elements of Company paintings of aristocratic men and women, nawabs and bibis and their retinue of servants and handmaidens minus the inherent exoticisation. In many ways, this painting combining European influence and native tradition was reflective of a newfound redefinition of the modern Indian woman without any of the shocking elements of Olympia. At a time when Victorian prudishness was seeping through the cracks of Indian society, Ravi Varma chose to model his young and educated heroine on a controversial figure proving once again that he was the first Modernist when it came to Indian art. Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863 (Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons) Raja Ravi Varma, Reclining Nair Lady, 1902 (Image courtesy: Google Arts & Culture) The dark-skinned attendants to fair-skinned mistresses Left: Olympia Right: Reclining Nair Lady Left: Olympia Right: Indulekha This genre defying painting features in the first ever Exclusive Raja Ravi Varma NFT Auction. Click the link here to participate in the First Ever Raja Ravi Varm NFT Auction .

RtistiQ

04 Feb 2022

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Two Ajanta-Esque courtly women enjoying the splendours of spring, a couple riding an autorickshaw on the streets of Kolkata, a group of villagers on pilgrimage, Alaskan migratory birds visiting the Taj Mahal, an installation mimicking the complicated Tangaliya weave, and a surreal Dandi March - this Republic Day we bring you a comprehensive collection of Indian art cutting across India's various artistic traditions and practices. Often considered colourful, bright, filled with complicated symbolism and tangential delineations, the indigenous and contemporary arts of India are often about it’s people and the thousands of stories that make up this unique landscape. Perhaps this is why a Bhaskar Chitrakar Kalighat painting can find a place next to a Binoy Varghese canvas; Shamim Akhtar’s abstract model of Kerala monsoons alongside Nitesh Chaudhuri’s pahadi farmers makes absolute sense. Delineated broadly through different schools, styles, and unconventional juxtapositions, this particular set of artworks experiment with a diverse range of Indian art-historical antecedents and arrive at certain abbreviations that placed them in a keen, tangential relationship to the contemporary visual language. 1. Ashik Alikhan, Two Alaskan Birds Visiting Taj (Image link: https://art.rtistiq.com/en/art/painting/two-alaskan-birds-visiting-taj In a picture-perfect moment of East meets West, two migratory birds fly all the way from Alaska to visit the famous Taj Mahal. See more of this painting here 2. Bhaskar Chitrakar, Riding in a Tuk Tuk (Image link: https://art.rtistiq.com/en/art/undefined/riding-in-a-tuk-tuk) This Kalighat pata painting by Bhaskar Chitrakar explores contemporary Calcutta via familiar characters - the Bengali Babu and his wife. The wealthy couple traverses through the busy streets of Calcutta (now Kolkata) in an autorickshaw exploring the city that has changed rapidly since the last time they ventured out. 3. Elancheziyan S., Spring (Image link: https://art.rtistiq.com/en/art/painting/spring15) Inspired by the famed Ajanta paintings, artist Elancheziyan takes us back to the glorious era of Rashtrakutas where we see noblemen in the company of courtly women with the beautiful architecture bringing the background. 4. Nitesh Chaudhari, Suddenly (Image link: https://art.rtistiq.com/en/art/undefined/suddenly) Inspired by the works of iconic Abanindranath Tagore, artist Nitesh Chaudhuri takes us to a quaint village on the foothills of the Himalayas. A lone woman is reaping the overgrown crops as we take in the bucolic surroundings around her 5. Sanjay Kumar Rajpoot, Dandi Salt - II (Image link: https://art.rtistiq.com/en/art/painting/dandi-salt---ii) A reflection of our current circumstances, artist Sanjay Kumar Rajpoot transcends history, politics, society and nature to bring alive the momentous Dandi March and the very act of defying the Salt law by Mahatma Gandhi had it occurred in present-day and age. Discover more of our eclectic Indian art collection here.

RtistiQ

26 Jan 2022

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“(Raja) Ravi Varma’s imaginary women are cyphers, they will never be realistic because very few people actually look like that. Every now and then in their own way, the women Ravi Varma imagined can and do reflect what we would like to see in ourselves and the world around us.” Deepanjana Pal Raja Ravi Varma, one of the greatest painters in Indian history, transcended boundaries between the real, ideal, and imaginary, particularly when it came to depicting women. From simple flowers to glittering jewellery, gorgeous brocades on cascading silks, Ravi Varma embellished his iconic women, thus reinterpreting the Indian ideal of feminine beauty with his fair-skinned, doe-eyed puranic nayikas (heroines), devis (goddesses), maharanis (queens) and apsaras (celestial nymphs) whose general demeanour is one of tender piety and sublime grace. Being the first to portray the sensuality and modesty of Indian women through Indian sensibilities and European techniques, he was perhaps the biggest influencer of his time. Arguably one of the most beautiful of Raja Ravi Varma’s nayikas is Radha. She exudes a soft beauty, intelligence and sensitivity. Not surprisingly, these traits are also found in the goddesses and strong females of orthodox literature across pan-India. Since her beauty transcended other definitions of beauty, Raja Ravi Varma has to exercise extra caution when bringing her to life on canvas. As human and godly loves coalesce in this relationship, we see Radha both as a lover and a devotee of Krishna. Perhaps this explains the pooja thali present in the portrait. It also showcases other symbols of spiritual devotion like the brass thali of flower assortment and sweet desserts. This shows the character prioritizing worship and devotion over the romantic play between the two. She is shown contently sitting on the rocks near the flowing water. The faint hint of a smile shows that she may have seen him approaching her. Radha in the Moonlight, 1890 Raja Ravi Varma had a knack for depicting historical and mythological lore in all his artworks. He also made the traditional, bold, and strong Indian woman as a central theme for his works showcased at the World Columbian Exposition. There was a specific purpose behind this action. He wanted to spread the Indian woman’s sophistication and attractiveness when she adorns herself in various Indian attires. The reason behind it is not hard to fathom. The painter wanted to tell the Western world that the characters etched on canvas in his artworks were real women and not a figment of his active imagination. This was his way of helping the traditional Indian lady to be exposed to a larger audience that spanned the globe. Dressed in a gorgeous nauvari saree, Expectation is a painting of a woman expectantly waiting for someone special is a quintessential Ravi Varma nayika. This character is depicted in a light that the Western and Indian world would connect with. It is easy to recognize the culture and affluence in the artwork. No wonder that it was a part of the Chicago exhibition. Expectation, 1893 Living from 1848 until 1906, Raja Ravi Varma’s regal portraiture went above and beyond the conventions of the genre, combining a heady mix of opulence, drama, flair, and storytelling. The famous painter also had Tamil Nadu as his base for a short time. In this period, he came up with artworks depicting several members of the imperial family. These include Maharaja Thondaiman of Pudukkottai, an art connoisseur, and his soulmate Janaki Subamma Bai Sahib. Some other works also included their sons and other members of the royal family. An intelligent and 'intriguing' woman, according to the British station-in-charge of Pudukkottai, Queen Janaki Subbamma was a capable and resourceful woman who realised that in matters of governance, the latter called the shots, leaving her to protect her turf. Ravi Varma added a lot of detailing to the jewellery that adorns her body. No wonder that the illuminance radiating from her gems and pearls is a standout feature of the artwork. Art fans will be drawn to the nose ring and the oversized jhumkas that Subbmma is shown wearing. The rich and vibrant aura of the royal is as visible in her glowing jewellery and saree as through her powerfully piercing gaze. Her Highness Janaki Subamma Bai Sahib of Pudukkottai, 1879 Raja Ravi Varma specialises in adding a human touch to ethereal Goddesses. This way, he tries to bridge the gap between the human and the divine. Such artworks go a long way in letting people re-think the traditional perceptions about womanhood. The artist has been considered an early pioneer of modern Indian art. His core competency in giving a human touch to the divine figures helped add a touch of realistic essence to the artworks. This was a pathbreaking milestone in the history of Indian Art. What today is taken for granted in our collective psyche is the reference of these humanlike forms of Gods, which bridge the gap between mythology, history, and religion. Through his affordable lithographs that reached almost every household, what lingers in every Indian male memory is bowing down in respect to the mother Goddess in her many forms. Evident in his artworks is the realistic depiction of the human form while weaving in the mythological aspect of Indian goddesses where they are depicted with four hands, holding a veena, lotus, prayer beads, etc. Goddess Saraswati, Ravi Varma Press, 1890 There Comes Papa shows how a regal lady from Malabar gesticulating her husband’s arrival to her infant son, whom she carries in her arms. The painting also shows a white and grey dog looking in the direction of the father’s arrival. An excited pet dog also looks towards the arriving father. Raja Ravi Varma had dispatched 10 works of art to the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. There Comes Papa was one of the select paintings as a part of this batch of artworks. The inspiration behind the painting is dear to the painter. This is because it featured his eldest daughter as the mother with her own son. This painting has a note to describe the artwork. It says, “A Keralite mother clad in white cloth is preparing to go to the temple with her son at her arm. A dog is following.” The painting is a depiction of the blend of Western essence like a pet canine with an affluent yet traditional Keralite female of an era gone by. There Comes Papa, 1893 Amongst these extraordinary paintings, one portrait that stands out is of his formidable mother-in-law. Known in the family as Karutha Amooma ("the dark-complexioned grandmother"), the innately human Mahaprabha of Mavelikara comes across as a woman with dark complexion, bloodshot eyes, and an imperious glare. There are many indicators of her royal lineage. Take, for instance, her posture as she is seated. Art fans also note the brass prop and her shawl, which portrays an imperial air about her. This is a documentation of a matriarch in a social system that accords the women with authority and privilege. Ravi Varma’s world too had a heavy influence of such a matriarchal society, and his paintings too reflect the strong authority wielded by female characters. It remains an exceptional work depicting a woman of stern character without softening either her powerful countenance or her distinct physical features. Mahaprabha of Mavelikkara, 1880 Ravi Varma had a knack for portraying female characters that went against the cultural rules, style, and societal expectations. As a result, he managed to let an Indian beauty emerge that transcended regional parameters. No wonder that his artworks and female characters embodied the essence of classic and contemporary. He succeeded in letting art fans blur the distinction between the imaginary as real, and thus believe in both.

RtistiQ

31 Dec 2021

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Starting today, the waiting list is open for early access to a never seen before, never done before NFT. The Maharaja of all NFTs is poised as a rare opportunity to own a piece of Indian Art Legacy - the works of Raja Ravi Varma one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. It will be brought to you by RtistiQ in collaboration with ‘Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation’ and ‘Gallery G’. The iconic Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) is known as ‘The Father of Modern Indian Art’. The royal brought a historic turn in the art of India and became the most iconic Indian artist of all times. He united Hindu mythological subject matter with European realism historicist painting style, depicting Indian gods and characters. Raja Ravi Varma made use of oil painting and mastered the art of lithographic reproduction to bring a wind of change by focusing on the details with his play of light, shadows and adding depth using perspective. His artworks are either part of royal collections and housed in palaces in India or owned by eminent private collectors. Just as RtistiQ has established a game changing secure physical-digital link for artists & buyers, via this auction of Raja Ravi Varma’s works and lithographs, we want to set a precedent for a rare collectible that has stepped out of history’s canvas. This is an NFT of many firsts; the first NFT of a national treasure, the first and only digital NFT for Raja Ravi Varma, first one in collaboration with a foundation and the first with a traditional gallery representation. The Indian government has declared his works nationwide treasures and non-export antiquities. With this endeavour to tokenize a chapter of Indian art, our mission is to bring to any art aficionado a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own original Raja Ravi Varma’s works regardless of where they reside. We will be revealing more on the auction and dates soon. Make sure you join the waitlist on the RtistiQ NFT drop page. Follow us on discord https://discord.gg/HNwU7gUqjS to not miss out on any update.

RtistiQ

17 Dec 2021

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Celebrated among the greatest painters in India, and a visionary far beyond his times Raja Ravi Varma was known for the rich shades and energetic hues of his mythological prints and the ethereal power of his temperate paintings. Born into an aristocratic family in 1848 in the village of Kilimanoor, Kerala, Ravi Varma was the first one to blend European academic norms for the depiction of true details naturalism with a rich India-centric influence. Working with an illusionistic flair, Ravi Varma reimagined the Hindu mythological stories so deeply entrenched in the popular Indian imagination. Up until then, most of these characters were painted were flat, and the deities were recognized only by their accessories and mounts. Owing to modern realism, Raja Ravi Varma offered them a face thus humanizing them. And many lovely episodes from the Hindu epics came to life, in full-bodied form, colour, and emotion that were palpable. In a unique fusion and intermingling of light and shadows by using a perspective that added depth to his paintings, the artist traversed through disparate moods and emotions. His paintings reverberate with a zest to a celebration called life. This is why his paintings had trees adorned with fruits and flowers, and waters made more mesmerising with the various hues. Last but not least were the painting’s subjects themselves. The longing in the eyes made it seem that they would blink and come out of the painting any moment now. Disappointed, 1906 It was a remarkable shift from the type of art that was painted then. Now the eyes expressed a longing as the folds of sari fluttered, the jewels that generously adorned his subjects shimmered in a perceived angle of light - and Virahotkhandita Nayika was born. According to the classical convention, one way of recognizing ‘the grieving woman who is separated from her beloved' is through her open, unbound hair. And this is how one sees the woman portrayed here - unhappy after receiving a letter from her lover. In an image depicting the relationship between a friend and the heroine, Chitralekha paints the picture of Aniruddha, the Prince (in this case the Vaishnava deity Krishna) who stole heroine Usha’s heart. Ravi Varma titled this Chitralekha not only because that is the name of Usha’s friend, but because Chitralekha means someone who is as stunning as a painted image. In this case, the friend could really be the heroine’s own conscience. It sings a soliloquy by the grieving Nayika, one who is in separation. At that moment, Chitralekha conjures up his face in a painting. Chitralekha thus transforms into Usha’s own conscience. Chitralekha, 1890 Ravi Varma was aware of the narrative and context of the epic. Hence, he could visualize these narratives in his mind and put them on the canvas. He did not conform to set standards of following a painting theme as per the story. He was known to alter the mood and theme as per what he was commissioned or as an innovative inspiration. The classic scene of Lord Rama breaking Lord Shiva’s bow to marry Sita is legendary, for it was a precursor to the war between Lord Rama and Ravan. Varma painted the scene to show anguish on the character’s faces to mark this future event. Rama Breaking The Sacred Bow Of Siva Before His Marriage To Sita, 1906 Rama, Sita and Lakshmana Crossing The Sarayu, 1906 From one of longing and a high octane drama to a state of absolute bliss. This is a painting of Rama, Sita and Lakshana Crossing The Sarayu on their way to exile. To depict Sita's contentment when she was with her husband Rama, Ravi Varma portrayed her elaborately dressed, a peaceful visage, and her hair bound in a bun. The Stolen Interview, early 20th century If we look closely at the two characters in The Stolen Interview, we may think that they are meant for each other. It shows how two people in love conducted themselves back in those days. We see the man looking at the female, while the lady pretends to be busy with a flower in her hand. But their presence in such close proximity makes us believe that they consider each other their soulmate. The role of the flower is as symbolic in this painting as it is in most of the other paintings of Varma. The rose depicted here symbolizes eternal love. The female character has draped a simple yet elegant gold-bordered saree. The pearl jewellery she adorns around her neck is meant to tell us that she comes from an affluent household. The light is shown to come inside from out, showcasing that we, the viewers, are witnessing a private moment as complete outsiders. Yashoda and Krishna, ca. 1911 In this painting, one finds the zenith of motherly love, Vatsalya Bhava as the infant Krishna is hugging his mother Yashoda and is holding a cup in his tiny hand. His cherubic face pressed close to his mother as he begs for some fresh milk while she is milking the cow. At this moment, both the mother and the son are at their intimate best. Yashoda’s glance reveals her ecstatic joy of the nearness of her baby, whose demand she enjoys and fulfills grudgingly. pestering demand of her child. These characters are the protagonists of a historic moment from a classical text, were intended to be noble, heroic, momentous, and emotional in the most human way. These gods, goddesses, noblemen, and women left an indelible impact on art, religion, society, and aesthetics as they democratized art, perhaps groundbreaking in the history of the Indian art movement.

RtistiQ

17 Dec 2021

5 min to read

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