Comparing the depiction of Indian women in the paintings of RAJA RAVI VARMA during the colonial period and in the works of FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA during the postcolonial period
Comparing the depiction of Indian women in the works of RAJA RAVI VARMA during the colonial period and in the works of FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA during the postcolonial period ABSTRACT Indian art paintings are unique: they are a reflection of the cultural, societal and political aspects of the nation passing through various eras, stretching for a period of 10,000 years. It is not surprising to say that Indian painting has been the trailblazer that gave a very exclusive genre of paintings to the world. The paintings are awe inspiring in every period starting from the pre-historic paintings in the Bhimabetka Caves dating 5500 BC in Central India to the modern paintings of the 21st century. Although the paintings are immortal in all the eras, be it the pre-historic period, the Buddhist period, the murals of Ajanta and Ellora, the Mughal period, British period or the Modern Age, they take a very formidable twist at the turn of the 20th century while India was oscillating between the colonial and the post-colonial period. This essay explores the paintings of the most distinguished painters of the 19th century such as Raja Ravi Varma and of the 20th century such as Francis Newton Souza in the colonial and postcolonial eras respectively. Their paintings are peerless not only for their beauty but also for the ideologies and philosophy of the painters. A close investigation of their