THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The expressions on the faces of S Madhan and A Moses, the restorers, and conservators of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings, conveyed their sense of pride and achievement. They had successfully restored the unfinished painting, ‘The Parsi Lady,’ by Raja Ravi Varma, which had been idle for over a century. The painting was unveiled by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Kilimanoor Palace, which is 380 years old, on Saturday, coinciding with the 175th birth anniversary of the renowned painter.
Madhan, Moses, and their mentor, V N Selvarehai, had been working on ‘The Parsi Lady’ for a year. The Kilimanoor Palace authorities had folded the canvas and left it idle for many years, causing extensive damage by the time it was retrieved. Madhan and Moses, who had arrived from Chennai for the unveiling of the painting, said that after the initial work, they had been working on the painting for just eight days.
“Ravi Varma had not completed the fingers and background. The canvas was very fragile.
We had to work on the folding and also address the cracks developed over the years of lying idle. Our job was not to retouch it, but to reintegrate it. We had to give life to ‘The Parsi Lady’”, said Madhan and Moses.
This is the trio’s 21st Raja Ravi Varma painting that they have restored, but it is the only one that was unfinished. They have restored his paintings, which are displayed on the walls of the Salarjung Museum, Mysore Palace, Tripunithura Hill Palace, and in private collections at Kowdiar Palace of the former Travancore Royal family and private collectors in Tamil Nadu and London. The pigments used by Madhan and Moses are reversible, meaning that the owner of ‘The Parsi Lady’ can revert it to its old-world charm.
“We did a minimal intervention and it took three days of work. We have done only 5% of the work when Ravi Varma did the rest of it”, added Madhan.
Ravi Varma had returned to his home and started working on his unfinished paintings after he wound up his press in Bombay upon hearing about the death of his brother, Raja Raja Varma.
He worked on ‘The Parsi Lady’ in the Chitrasala of the Kilimanoor Palace, but unfortunately, he died on October 2, 1906, before he could complete the painting.
The Governor also unveiled another rare painting of Ravi Varma, a portrait of Thriketta Thirunal Uma Amma Thamburatti. He referred to Ravi Varma as a painter among princes and a prince among painters.
THE PARSI LADY
Raja Ravi Varma worked on the painting in the Chitrasala of the Kilimanoor Palace, but died before finishing it. Ravi Varma had not completed the fingers and background.