Shakuntala

Raja Ravi Varma

The painting that carried European oil technique into Indian narrative, and made its subjects household images.

History

What the record shows

Ravi Varma took the scene from the Mahabharata, painting Shakuntala feigning a thorn in her foot to glance back at Dushyanta.

His oleograph press reproduced the image in enormous numbers, placing it in homes across the subcontinent.

Tropical humidity and earlier restoration campaigns make the canvas sensitive; loans are conditioned on stable climate and sealed transit.

Provenance

Leonardo da Vinci

Vincent van Gogh

Johannes Vermeer