IMPORTANT NOTES
'Rama vanquishing the pride of the ocean'
Raja Ravi Varma is the creator of the famous mythological painting 'Rama vanquishing the pride of
the ocean'. This is an episode from Valmiki's Ramayana. The theme of the painting Is Rama's anger
at being thwarted in building a temporary bridge over the sea to reach Lanka and bring back Sita,
kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. Rama is in anger and picks up his bow warning the sea-god
that he would destroy the sea unless Varuna allowed him to build the bridge. Ravi Varma seizes
this moment and builds-up his composition on the principle of dynamic allice, Varuna and his
consorts speed forward to pacify the angry hero.
There is no movement of limbs, but the waves carry them forward at a fast pace. The
figures rise from the water energised by the mobility of that element. Balancing the pyramid like
group hurtling forward, is the strong linear figure of Rama. His very stance and the fluttering
garments suggest the strength of the wind blowing from the ocean. The sea is churned into ridge-
like waves with foams all around in the middle ground. While nearer the shore it has become a
swirling mass of foam. The rocks in the foreground stand firm in contrast to the agitated sea in their
weight and texture. They enhance the impression of indomitable resolution built-up by the figure
of Rama.
Ques. Describe the features of the painting 'Rama vanquishing the pride of the ocean'.
Ques. What’s the main theme of the painting ?
Ques. Who is the artist of the painting?
Ques. What is the artist trying to symbolise in the painting?
Mother and Child
Mother and Child' is one of the famous paintings immortalising motherhood by Jamini Roy. The
painting symbolises a soothing calm and tranquillity common to Eastern philosophy. There is no
hint of storm and stress of modern life giving an effect that both the mother and the child have
found fulfilment in each other. This gives the painting a quality of timelessness. Here in this painting
the artist has limited himself to the bare unadorned basic line drawing that goes to the root of
painting. He has stripped his work of all superfluous adornment and made the painted lines of
curves and ellipses come alive with a statuesque quality. The contour lines brought out the figure
with clarity and the dip and the swell of the curves trace the figure with the perfect pose. The
moulding of the volume of the figure through tonal gradation is sensitive. The large eyes and the
oval face radiate a physical coolness and complete peace undisturbed by any stress of modern life.
The look and the face and easy rhythmic contour lines all reveal a rural simplicity of a mother who
finds the fulfilment of life in her son. The figures are arranged in a single frontal plane and there is
no suggestion of a foreground and background.
Ques. Who is the artist of the painting?
Ques. What does the painting symbolises?
Ques. How’s the physical appearance of the Mother and Child?
Ques. How is the moulding specified in the painting?
Ques. How are the figures arranged?
Ques. Write the name of any other work of Jamini Roy except the painting “Mother and Child” ?
Ques. Describe the features of the painting mentioned above.
Mother Teresa
M.F. Hussain began the series Mother Teresa in 1979. The paintings are done in different mediums
like oil, acrylic etc. The most distinctive feature of those paintings is that, a white saree with a blue
border is draped around her forehead and flows round her body like the Byzantine draperies in the
Catholic Churches. Husain himself admits that he got the idea of draping Mother Teresa's head with
white saree having a blue border from the play of light colour from the stained-glass paintings of
the Byzantine Churches and Cathedrals he had visited. It defines the outlines of her face and covers
her head but the face is always a featureless dark unilluminated area on the canvas. The saree with
the blue border I symbolic uniform of the sisters of the orphanage and homes run by her. The
darkened face of the mother is to erase the racial identity of the mother and establish her universal
motherhood. Her two hands are shown as holding a baby while her broad expanse of the saree
shelters two other homeless children sleeping peacefully. The darkened face also suggests the
negation of ego that must be an attribute of this profoundly selfless person. It is also indicative of
Husain's deliberate intention to avoid cheap sentimentality.
Ques. Who is the artist of the painting?
Ques. What’s the circa of the painting?
Ques. What’s the colour of the saree of Mother Teresa in the painting?
Ques. What are the main features of the painting?
Ques. Write a short note on the Artist M.F. Hussain and his carrier?
Ques. What does the darkened face of Mother Teresa justifies?
Ques . Name the two churches mentioned by M.F. Hussain in his painting “Mother Teresa”
The Children
The Children' an etching with aquatint in black and white is a representational work by Somnath
Hore symbolising his lifelong protest against the injustice meted out to the meek, humble and
innocent poor people of the society by the rich and the powerful ruling-class. Be it a famine or
communal riot or war, they are the first to suffer and die miserably in thousands. The composition
"The Children' is a powerful protest and the expression of the anguish, the artist suffered. It is a
close-knit composition of five standing figures, all victims of starvation. To indicate their total
isolation, there is no background, perspective surrounding, as if they are totally abandoned by
society. The etching shows three emaciated children with bloated stomachs and thin triangular rib-
cages, large heads and small faces with protruding eyes. Their mother is standing behind them as
if protecting them. Another girl child equally emaciated is standing in front of them. The deeply
etched ribs and cheek bones appear as deep gashing wounds. The aquatint resorted to is not for
any Chiaroscurist effects, but for filling the space.
Ques. Who is the artist of the painting?
Ques. Mention two works of Somnath Hore.
Ques. What’s the composition of the painting?
Ques. What does the painting mainly symbolises?
Ques. Describe main feature of the painting.
Ques. What kind of protest does this painting symbolises?
Of Walls
Of Walls' a graphic print in lithograph by Anupam Sud which is a mixture of photographic images
with drawn areas to bring together the subject with objective reality to contrast the unfeeling
background with pulsating lively human forms. In this painting a young lady sits in forlorn state
wearing the traditional dress of a widow. There is a brick wall shown beyond her on which pictures
of lively activities are faintly drawn to remind the viewers once she was a part of these lively
activities till the wall was erected to segregate (isolate) her from social life of meaningful activities.
Her black face indicates that she has become a non-entity, part of legs lying before her possibly of
her dead husband with whose death she has also died for the society. The print is a powerful protest
by the artist against society erecting such walls on the basis of cast religion and status.
Ques. Who’s the artist of the painting?
Ques. What kind of painting is it?
Ques. Write a note on the painting “ Of Walls” .
Ques. What kind of protest is described in the painting?
Man, Woman and Tree
Man, Woman and Tree' is one of the best-known graphic prints of K. Laxman Goud. The painting
shows a female figure, centrally composed with a grove of trees and shrubs on her left and on her
right a male figure under a grove merges with trees and the lower portion of his body is surrounded
by a growth of shrubs. The male and female figures are facing each other and there is a smile in the
tree spirit's face. The painter has drawn an Indian Version of the Greek wood nymphs, both male
and female are meeting together. It's a continuation of the philosophical thought of Laxman Goud
that in nature, man, woman, trees and animals are in a continuum process.
Ques. Who’s the artist of the painting?
Ques. What are the things that the painting is mainly composed of?
Ques. What version of Greek has the painter drawn in the painting?
Ques. The male and female figures are facing towards which direction and what is the role of the
tree?
Triumph of Labour
The outstanding bronze sculpture of the group, "Triumph of Labour' would ever remain an
unparalleled example of sculpture. The four figures in the group engaged in the formidable task of
moving a massive rock with the help of wooden logs are perfect anatomical studies of men engaged
in a herculin task requiring maximum physical effort. They are muscular labourers Scantily clad in
loincloth-a piece of cloth worn around the body at the hips by men. The straining semi-nude figures
reveal the sinews and muscles of their magnificent bodies win universal acclaim. The labour they
put in is symbolical of the progress of man. The sculptor has put in a masterly fashion, the difficult
reverse movement which is a unique feature of the sculpture. The sculpture shows a rare quality
of dynamic mobility. Devi Prasad was greatly influenced by the French master sculptor August Rene
Rodin.
Ques. Who’s the artist of the sculpture?
Ques. How many figures are there in this sculpture?
Ques. What are the main features of the sculpture?
Ques. Artist Devi Prasad was mainly influenced by which French master sculptor?
Ques. What does the straining semi-nude figures reveal?
Ques. What does the sculpture mainly shows?
Santhal family
Santhal family' is a complex composition with two figures standing side by side, a dog, a child
sitting in a basket hanging from a pole. The woman is walking beside the man. She has a load on
her head. A dog accompanies the man. It is an entire family in migration. It symbolises labour
migration. This is a harsh real picture of a family forced to leave their land by hunger. The sculpture
follows no set style but the style of the rough textured land of gravel and red clay of Shanti Niketan.
The road side composition carries the dynamism of the road.
Ques. What’s the circa and artist of the sculpture?
Ques . How many figures are shown in the figure?
Ques. What does the sculpture symbolises?
Ques. What sort of texture is there in the sculpture?
Ques. Describe the main composition of the sculpture.
Ques. What’s the style that the sculpture follows?
Cries Unheard
The widely known bronze casting entitled Cries Unheard' by Amarnath Sehgal won him
the President's Golden Plaque award in 1958. It is a symbolic creation of a family of three figures,
the parents and their child, expressing the deep anguish of the sculptor at the injustice prevalent
in society. The tall elongated figures with hollow distorted faces and hands raised towards the sky
are shouting to the world how through the ages they have been victims of political and social
injustice with no one to hear to their protests. The mask like faces of the victims seem to suggest
they have been suffering in perpetuity at the hands of unjust people in society, who have been
exploiting them.
Ques. Who’s the artist of the sculpture?
Ques. Which award did he won for the sculpture and when ?
Ques. Write a note on the sculpture Cries Unheard?
Ques. What does the mask suggest?
Ques. Why are the hands of the figures raised towards the sky or what does ‘Raised hand’
symbolise?
Ques. What are figures mainly trying to express?
Bengal School Of Painting
1. Bengal artists gave a sense of direction to the first art movement of the country. They
sowed the confidence in the traditional values and rich heritage of Indian Art by giving
the Indians a new cultural consciousness.
2. The Bengal artists adopted a new Japanese water colour technique called "wash' which
synthesised with European transparent water colour and Indian tempera. Wash became
the hallmark of Bengal school.
3. During this period all types of painting including religious, social and historical events,
birds and animals, and landscapes were painted.
4. The colours are soft without shadow and conventional perspective giving a mystic sense
of space and atmosphere and diluting the impact of colour. The Bengal painters introduced linear
delicacy, rhythm and grace of Ajanta.
Ques. What are the main features of Bengal School Of Painting?
Ques. Which new technique did the Bengal Artists adopted?
Ques. What were the kinds of paintings included in this period?
Ques. How were the colours in this period?
Ques. What was ‘Wash’ mainly synthesised of?
