New Delhi – A 130-year-old iconic painting by renowned painter Raja Ravi Burma has sold for Rs 21.16 crore at auction. King Ravi Burma is said to be the father of modern Indian art. This painting of King Ravi Varma was in the possession of a private collector. The painting, titled ‘Modern Indian Art’, was auctioned on April 6.
People bid 15 to 20 crore rupees for this interesting painting. Through this painting, King Ravi Varma depicts the ‘Eternal Death of Draupadi’ from the time of Mahabharata. In the painting, Draupadi, surrounded by Kauravas and Pandavas in the palace, is trying to remove the misrule. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad directed 14 of Verma’s paintings between 1888 and 1890 and ‘Draupadi Chirahan’ was one of them.
The king ordered paintings for the Lakshmi Bilas Palace built in the then Baroda kingdom. Verma chose the subject of painting from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Verma, who painted colorful images of Hindu deities, came to the then Baroda kingdom and spent four months here from 1881 to 1882. Maharaja Sayajira also built a studio for him near Motibagh Maidan, where Verma lived and worked in the 1880s. We tell you that the painting ‘Draupadi Chairharan’ was not owned by the present royal descendant Samarjit Singh Gaikwad and was not part of his art collection.
