MYSURU: His happiness knew no bounds when he was finally granted permission to undertake research on the rare paintings and drawings exhibited at the century-old Jaganmohan Palace Art gallery in Mysuru. Meet 49-year-old Vittal F Chulaki, a research scholar who has undertaken extensive studies on the paintings exhibited at the art gallery.His research throws light on the efforts of the maharajas of Mysore who visited art galleries abroad during their foreign tours with the objective of establishing a similar art gallery back in their kingdom. This resulted in the birth of Jaganmohan Art Gallery.
Vittal has also researched on the cultural atmosphere of Mysore, especially the patronage of the kings to fine arts literature, music, dance, sculpting, etc., and the subsequent construction of an art gallery and how it has been managed over the years.The gallery was inaugurated in 1861 and houses art works, drawings and paintings, both gifted to and purchased by the Wadiyars. There are about 450 art works on display by artists from not just Karnataka and India, but also from the West. Vittal has laid special emphasis on artists from Karnataka highlighting their portraits, stills, nature and traditional paintings, contemporary artifacts, artifacts with folk background, among others.
“An art gallery is a western concept and Wadiyars of Mysore, being patrons of art and culture, set up the gallery, considered to be the first of its kind in the country. With the patronage of the kings, a number of talented artists came to be recognised and honoured. The irony is we don‘t have proper information about the artists who created these paintings and drawings.,” he adds.
Vittal, a native of Belagavi district, was very passionate about arts right from his childhood and learnt contemporary painting in his growing-up years. It was his earnest desire to study the paintings exhibited at the gallery and he finally set out on the task in 2014.
He has also exhibited his works at Pune, Kochi, Mysuru, Hubballi and is a recipient of several awards. He has experience of nearly three decades in paintings, and is working as an art lecturer at Sree Kalanikethana School of Art, Mysuru.
Jaganmohaka Palace
Jaganmohan Palace was constructed by Krishnaraja Wadiyar III in 1861 and was declared a museum in 1915. The Maharaja along with his administrative shirestedar T Narasipura Ramakrishnappa had been to see the newly built palace, and he remarked, “What can I say your highness, the palace is ‘Jaganmohaka. “That is how the palace got its name, said Eachanuru Kumar, Historian
About the paintings
Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma are one of the major attractions at the gallery. There are around 16 paintings of which most were done in 1906. ‘Jatayu Vadhe’, ‘A woman feeding a child ‘, ‘Beladingala Bale’ are very realistic.
Gaganendranath Tagore, a senior artist from Bengal, has displayed ‘Nantharada Kurukshetra’, a contemporary painting, which is very creative and colourful. While it is mostly believed that contemporary paintings came about in the last four decades, it actuallyexisted from centuries.
The paintings of palace artist Venkatappa are the cynosure of all eyes. Five of his paintings have been displayed at the gallery.‘Modaka Ganesha’, Veene Huchu’ are very popular among art lovers. The government gives out a `5 lakh cash prize in his name and the Venkatappa Art Gallery in Bengaluru is also named after him.
‘Deepa Lakshmi’, a girl holding the lamp, has been displayed in a dark room in the gallery. The work by Savalaram Laxman Haldankar of Maharashtra is a major attraction. The colours of the painting actually brighten the room.