Important Notice

Raja Ravi Varma indisputably remains the most influential pioneer of early modern Indian art and was a figure of many remarkable firsts. He popularised oil painting in India during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, became the first Indian artist of aristocratic lineage to master Western perspective and render traditional subjects with striking realism, and was among the earliest Indian artists to achieve widespread fame at a time when... Raja Ravi Varma indisputably remains the most influential pioneer of early modern Indian art and was a figure of many remarkable firsts. He popularised oil painting in India during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, became the first Indian artist of aristocratic lineage to master Western perspective and render traditional subjects with striking realism, and was among the earliest Indian artists to achieve widespread fame at a time when painters and craftsmen were largely anonymous. However, his most significant and enduring achievement-one unmatched by his contemporaries-was the sense of cultural unity that he fostered across India through his now iconic depictions of gods, goddesses, and mythological figures.

Born Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran into the aristocratic Kilimanoor family of Travancore, he was introduced at age 14 to Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal by his uncle in 1862. The Maharaja was impressed by his talent and invited him to remain at the Mootathumatam Palace and train as a court artist. By this time, academic realism had taken hold in the Subcontinent, introduced largely by itinerant European artists and patronised by the British. Oil painting was also gaining prominence for the versatility and depth it offered. Although both Indian and European artists were reluctant to formally instruct him, Varma mastered the medium through close study and observation, particularly of the visiting painter Theodore Jensen, who arrived at court in 1868.

Ravi Varma possessed a rare command of European academic realism, which had shaped Western art for centuries, and a strong understanding of the philosophical principles underlying classical Indian art and adapted both to express distinctly Indian themes. By rendering the deities and heroes of Indian epics as lifelike, emotionally expressive figures, he moved them beyond rigid ritual conventions and made them more accessible to a broader public. Their dramatic and affective presence not only transformed sacred imagery but also nurtured an appreciation for history painting among Indian audiences. This synthesis marked a decisive departure from earlier indigenous painting traditions and signalled a new direction in Indian art. It attracted a wide-ranging patronage, from princely families and wealthy industrialists to the highest-ranking officials of the British Raj, while later inspiring deep religious sentiment among the wider public.

YASHODA AND KRISHNA: THE SACRED BOND OF MOTHER AND CHILD

Ravi Varma’s rich oeuvre may be broadly divided into two principal genres: portraiture and mythological painting. Yet, as Partha Mitter reminds us, “...it was not portraits but history paintings that created his universal popularity.” (Partha Mitter, “The Artist as a Professional”, Kishore Singh ed, Raja Ravi Varma: Yashoda & Krishna, New Delhi: DAG, 2023 p. 25) The mythological works themselves may be further classified into Puranic and religious subjects, each treated differently in composition and intent. As art historian Rupika Chawla explains, the Puranic paintings are typically large in format and depict multiple figures caught at moments of heightened dramatic action. The selected episode is usually a pivotal and memorable scene within the larger narrative, one that sets into motion a chain of significant consequences. By contrast, in the religious works, of which the present lot is among the finest examples, Varma applies academic realism in a more restrained and focused manner. Here, the same deities and heroic figures are rendered naturalistically to evoke a particular mood or sentiment. (Rupika Chawla, “Exploring the Source”, Raja Ravi Varma: Painter of Colonial India, Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 2019, p. 161)

Painted in the 1890s, when Ravi Varma was at the height of his career, Yashoda and Krishna ranks as one of the artist’s most accomplished works. In this painting, he interprets the universally resonant theme of maternal love through the mythological figures of the infant Lord Krishna and his foster mother Yashoda, a subject strongly embedded in Indian culture and devotional sentiment. As writer and collector Ganesh V Shivaswamy explains, the work “... captures the scene of a stanza in the eighth discourse of the tenth book of the Shrimad Bhagavatam. It describes the moment when Yashoda is milking the cow and churning the butter and infant Krishna approaches her for milk.” (Ganesh V Shivaswamy, “The Cherished Child”, Kishore Singh ed., p. 57)

Comparable to the well-established subject of Madonna and Child in European art, the image of Yashoda with Krishna has a long visual history, appearing in temple carvings as well as in classical and vernacular painting traditions across India. By adopting a naturalistic mode of representation over classical iconographic conventions, Ravi Varma situates the divine within the everyday. Remarking on its effect, artist A Ramachandran writes, “An iconographical image of god evoked awe and not love and affection, but Ravi Varma broke that distance between Krishna and himself, therefore Krishna and people looking at the painting. This idiom he also borrowed from the bhakti cult where god is identified in personal terms. The medieval bhakti cult appealed to Ravi Varma who combined it with European realism, creating a new intimacy between gods and humans.” (A Ramachandran, “Art, Beyond Love…”, Kishore Singh ed., p. 42)

Although some of Varma’s Puranic mythological compositions can sometimes appear theatrical and overly staged, the present lot avoids such artifice. Here he conveys maternal affection with restraint and sensitivity. At the same time, his portrayal of Yashoda as a figure of admiration reflects his broader ideal of womanhood. As Chawla notes, “Collectively speaking, his women radiate a soft beauty combined with inner strength and intelligence that go beyond beauty of the exterior. This is the type of face that he associated with women known for their courage and tenacity, the uttam nayika or the high-minded woman of many virtues and qualities.” (Chawla, “Themes and Preoccupations”, p. 199) Yashoda inclines gently toward the child, momentarily distracted from milking the cow, while Krishna rests close to her in playful innocence. His gaze drifts dreamily into the distance whereas Yashoda’s extends outward beyond the picture frame. Through this subtle compositional device, Varma draws the viewer into the scene, transforming a domestic moment into an experience that suggests participation in a larger, sacred narrative. Varma borrows from the image of Navaneeta Krishna depicted in Tanjore paintings by choosing to paint Krishna with pale skin rather than the deep blue tones typically associated with the deity.

The cow in this composition alludes to Kamdhenu, the sacred Hindu bovine goddess believed to be the mother of all cows and a symbol of prosperity and abundance. This reference further heightens the painting’s emotional resonance and deepens its theme of unconditional maternal love and protection. Though it occupies a prominent part of the canvas, it is depicted with minimal detail. This allows one’s focus to remain on baby Krishna and Yashoda, both of whom face the viewer in an iconic frontal position that reinforces their divine significance.

The richness and complexity of this painting lie in Ravi Varma’s exceptional mastery of realism, visible in the meticulous attention he gives to surface and detail. One can almost feel the sumptuous texture of Yashoda’s ultramarine blue sari. His visual acuity is equally apparent in the jewellery adorning the two figures, including Yashoda’s visiri- murugu or fan-shaped earring and jhumka, and Krishna’s sarpech (turban ornament), pearl necklace, and bazuband (armband). Chawla explains, “Gods, goddesses and the royal milieu, the aristocracy and the upper-class children proclaim their status in their fine clothes and jewellery. Since the [Varma] brothers belonged to the Travancore aristocracy they were familiar with fine gems and jewels and continued to see excellent examples when they started to travel and make portraits of India’s royalty. They also accumulated a collection of their own... It is this familiarity with gems and jewels that make it possible for the brothers to paint them as exquisitely as they did. In Ravi Varma’s paintings, the gods are adorned with jewellery as splendid as his human subjects.” (Chawla, “Themes and Preoccupations”, p. 243)

REINVENTING THE IMAGE OF THE DIVINE

Ravi Varma’s mythological imagery achieved even wider reach through the lithographic press he established in Bombay in 1894. The press allowed him to reproduce his paintings in large numbers and distribute them far beyond elite circles, bringing his visual interpretations of the gods into homes across India. These oleographs entered everyday life: they appeared in calendar art and advertisements, influenced silverware designs, and were printed on matchboxes and paan wrappers. When they circulated in Tanjore, the imagery returned to influence the very painting tradition that had earlier informed Varma’s own artistic development.

His work also shaped the emerging language of early Indian cinema, serving as an important visual reference for pioneering filmmakers such as Dadasaheb Phalke and Baburao Painter. As Erwin Neumayer and Christine Schelberger note, “Ravi Varma accomplished what no other artist before or after him was able to do on that scale: he acted as producer, communicator, and distributor of the most potent visual mass media in the most populous continent at that time. His oleographs stabilised and unified Indian visual imagery to such an extent that he can be called its founding father.” (Erwin Neumayer and Christine Schelberger, eds., Raja Ravi Varma: Portrait of an Artist, The Diary of C. Raja Raja Varma, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 3)

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