Collin Davis
Raja Ravi Verma is regarding as one of the greatest Indian painters and in this piece, we explore 5 of his best mythology art paintings.
In this painting by one of India’s greatest painters Raja Ravi Verma, the goddess of wealth and fortune Mahalakshmi is depicted to be standing on a lotus floating gently on a beautiful pond with swans and an elephant in the backdrop.
If you observe closely, Mahalakshmi despite being the goddess of wealth is clad in simple attire, just like any other human being. There is not as much as a hint of exuberant jewellery or precious stones adorning her body.
Ravi Verma’s perception of wealth was quite different from conventional ideas and it implies that wealth is not something that holds significance in the physical form and it means much more than that.
The goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, in this piece of art is draped in a white saree, depicting purity, and is sitting beside a river playing the Veena. The Veena represents knowledge, which again is unconventional. The river in the backdrop symbolizes flow of knowledge in humans and its journey towards an ocean where it accumulates in the way that every other idea in the world is brought together.
Not only has Raja Ravi Verma immortalized gods and goddesses but also many prominent figures in Hindu tradition. This painting depicts an important character Shakuntala from the epic Mahabharata.
She is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of emperor Bharat. Ravi Verma painted different pieces based on different plots of the whole story and the above piece of art depicts a very young Shakuntala.
She has already fallen in love with the prince Dushyanta, and is turning around to steal a glance at him with an excuse of picking a thorn from her feet whilst taking support of her friend.
The genius of Ravi Verma beautifully captures the playfulness of youth in this painting.
Another Ravi Verma painting makes it to the list and this time, it is from the Ramayana. Jatayu, a demigod in vulture’s form is a loyalist of Lord Ramaand is trying to prevent Ravana from abducting Sita.
However, he proves to be unsuccessful and is gravely hurt by Ravana. He falls on the ground while Ravana escapes with Sita. This picture depicts a ferocious Ravana and an equally ferocious Jatayu right before the last moment of the fight.
Raja Ravi Verma’s best works were often see in his oil paintings and this stunning piece of art depicts the bonding between Yasoda and Krishna.
The sunrays falling on the fragile body of Lord Krishna as he stares into the distance where his mother is pointing is simply beautiful and captures the innocence of childhood its entirety.
