Put within a refined golden-hued frame, ready to grace the walls of your favorite space with her mythical beauty is one of the many female heroines of Raja Ravi Varma radiant as the fully blossomed flower.
Labeled as “Madri” in the lithographic press of Raja Ravi Varma, this oil painting is more popularly known as “Maharashtrian Lady with Fruit” which derives inspiration from the divine beauty of the princess of Madra-Desha and the co-wife of Kunti, from the epic text Mahabharata.
Madri is described in the Adi-Parva (Chapter 13) as an extremely beautiful female wrapped in red silks. Bringing the ancient and lesser-known persona of Madri to his canvas, Raja Ravi Varma successfully combined the pristine with the modern, a trend that can be seen in all his masterpieces.
With a multitude of complementary brush strokes in green, yellow, blue, grey, and white, the artist has recreated the mystical background of the original Maharashtrian Lady with Fruit by Ravi Varma. The beauty of the subject appears to have reached the perfection of its bloom, with all her features fully developed. She has sharp and thick brows, animated eyes, and full lips that break into a smile and reveal a flawless row of pearly teeth.
The Maharashtrian Lady with Fruit is draped in a luxurious red silk sari with round golden motifs and a border woven into it. The Pallav (endpiece) of her sari is wrapped around her lower body on her front, revealing the contrasting golden yellow color on it. Traditional South Indian jewelry known as “Kemp” (kemp refers to the red stone studded on the gold) embellished with pearls and a Kasu Mala (necklace of tiny gold coins) enhances the natural loveliness of the subject of this oil on canvas painting. With her hair tied in a simple bun tied with a pink Gajara (floral garland worn as a hair ornament), Raja Ravi Varma’s Madri is the epitome of Indian feminine beauty.
Contrasting with the luxurious attire of the subject is the steel or iron plate in her hand in which she carries fruits such as apples, oranges, and a bunch of grapes. Skilled employment of colors and white tints on the grapes has created the natural translucent, lustrous texture of fresh grapes. The posture of the carrier of these sweet fruits is relaxed as if she paused to take a good look at someone standing in front of her.
As soon as our eyes meet their counterpart on the canvas, we begin to understand the logic behind the posture of Madri. With her body and face toward the viewer, the alluring gaze of Madri or Maharashtrian Lady with Fruits seems to be following the viewer, no matter from which point we see the painting. This quality of enlivening his canvas, and creating an unbelievably interactive experience for the audience is one of the many reasons why Raja Ravi Varma continues to be the Raja (king) when it comes to Indian oil paintings.
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