Raja Ravi Varma, Goddess Saraswati

Analysis of Raja Ravi Varma, Goddess Saraswati

PERSONAL

My gut reaction to the painting based on my own subjective opinions is that it represents beauty and divinity. Goddess Saraswati commands attention in the painting. Her expression is soft and serene yet makes one aware of her superiority. Her posture gives a motherly vibe, of someone who is caring and giving. But it is also a regal, royal and powerful one (indicated by one leg crossed over another, luxurious ornaments etc). The goddess is shown to be spiritually connected with nature. It almost seems as if she is playing the veena and that sound is melodiously ringing through her surroundings. I can almost hear the veena, the sound of water, the chirping of birds and the gentle wind. Goddess Saraswati’s eyes are looking straight at the viewer while her body is angled away from the viewer. With respect to this, it seems her eyes tell the viewer that the Goddess has been waiting for him or has been expecting him. The peacock is looking at the Goddess, I feel like this element of the painting is telling the viewer how to react to the painting (that is, with awe and respect)

HISTORICAL

Raja Ravi Varma (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) is known as the artist who made the gods human. During the 1800s and before that, there existed no real image of gods and goddesses on paper. Raja Ravi Varma was the first man to give the Hindu Gods and Goddesses a proper human form. Raja Ravi Varma believed that art was freedom. He felt that art cannot have any rules, restrictions or censorship. He incorporated certain elements from the European art style into his paintings. His art is very realistic and life-like. Raja Ravi Varma traveled India to collect stories to inspire his paintings. His paintings revived great Indian mythological works like Ramayana and Mahabharata in the form of art. Raja Ravi Varma started his own press and released his artworks for all to see. In those times, only the upper caste people were allowed access to god. Many lower caste people and untouchables were not even allowed entry into the temples. These people worshipped the Gods and Goddess painted by Raja Ravi Varma made available to them because of the Raja Ravi Varma press. Many of the paintings Hindus worship today are also Raja Ravi Varma’s creation. The painter also must have been one among the first Indian artists to paint nudes. Dadasaheb Phalke (the father of Indian cinema) used to work under Raja Ravi Verma in his younger days. 

TECHNICAL

Goddess Saraswati looks absolutely stunning in the painting. The colors used in the painting are strong, rich and bright. The painting has a warm rich tone. The color of the sky indicates that it might be just a few minutes before sunset (the golden hour of photography). The painting is in portrait view. Skillful shading has been done to the different elements to indicate depth and lighting effect. The 3D perspective is visible. There are no outlines rather the artist has attempted to show the vision/scene just how it would look like if viewed by the naked eye. There are a lot of intricate details in certain parts of the painting especially Goddess Saraswati’s face (the bridge of her nose, her eyelids etc.) The one contrasting color that changes the tone from warm to cool is the slightly bright blue water. The Goddess’s saree is also one of the best-painted elements in this picture. It has an appearance of real fabric with rich, royal golden border. The shading of the saree is by far the best. The background is not as detailed as the Goddess and the peacock. This attracts more attention to the elements in the front.

CULTURAL

GODDESS SARASWATI: In the painting Goddess Saraswati sits in a royal and regal pose giving an aura of absolute divinity. As the goddess of knowledge, her face shows maturity and intelligence. Her expression is graceful and comforting. She is dressed in luxury (golden border saree and golden crown) but this is not overdone. The way she is presented shows her as a superior being but also as a humble and caring figure. There is probably no better way to show the great Goddess. The veena, scriptures, pearls etc in her hand are depictions of how Goddess Saraswati has been described in the ancient scriptures. Raja Ravi Verma has not left out any detail. This image of Saraswati is what many Hindus have prayed to as their beloved Goddess. Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge, people pray to her for wisdom. She is one of the most powerful Goddesses in Hindu mythology. 

PEACOCK:  To me, the peacock symbolizes the devotee. The peacock is one of the most majestic birds of India and it is also the national bird of India. In the painting, it is looking towards Saraswati with seeming adoration. The peacock is a prideful bird. For it to give something else attention is something of significance. It could mean that Raja Ravi Verma is asking the devotees to worship the Goddess with complete faith and absolutely no ego. He wants us to keep our pride, haughtiness, and ego to the side and pray to the Goddess. Also in the painting, the Goddess is more beautiful than the peacock. She attracts the eye of the viewer more. This could be a way of the artist telling us that the Goddess is more beautiful than the most beautiful bird in India.

NATURE ELEMENTS LIKE FLOWERS, LOTUS, RIVER, TREE ETC:  These elements of nature are present to indicate the serene atmosphere in which the Goddess is sitting. Instead of showing the Goddess amidst luxury, Raja Ravi Verma has shown her in a truly divine form. She is one with nature and close to Mother Earth. The elements of nature bring out the Goddess’s purity and elegance. They send a message to the viewer to not be intimidated by the Goddess. The painter attempts to give the painting a soothing effect using these elements of nature. These elements of nature are painted in a less beautiful and less detailed manner so as to enhance the beauty of the Goddess and attract the viewer’s attention to the Goddess. This may symbolize that the Goddess is more beautiful and radiant than nature itself. Her divinity is beyond the scope of human imagination. Whatever a human sees on Earth, however beautiful the sight may be, it can never compare to Goddess Saraswati. 

SKY: Another important point is that the left half of the painting looks like it is in the night time while the right half is bright as if to indicate daytime. This might be to tell the viewer’s that it is dusk. Or it could say that since Saraswati has got her back to the darkness, it means that with the help of the Goddess’s blessing we can be protected from the darkness.

ETHICAL

The main ethical and moral value one can get from this painting (keeping the religious aspect separate) is that darkness (pain, suffering, negativity etc) can be eliminated with the help of faith (positivity, hope, devotion, dedication etc). Religion and faith are things that give hope to a lot of people in the world. They guide people through the negative elements of life. There are moments in life when there is no source of hope and it is necessary to muster some form of courage and hope to keep going. There is no proof of God’s existence but believing in such an entity can give a source of hope when it is no easy to find it anywhere else. As long as, religion and devotion are not taken to a negative extreme it can be a source of great comfort and hope. Morals and ethics must come unconditionally to people and must not be the result of a fear of heaven and hell. But if religious faith can guide a person on the path of morality, it is quite a good thing. The painting also highlights how true religious faith should really look like. When you worship the divine it should come from a place of complete positivity. There should be no ego, pride or arrogance when worshipping God. True spirituality comes from an honest and pure place in one’s soul. The fact that the Goddess is shown sitting on a river bank instead of a luxurious palace teaches the viewer that even someone as great as a Goddess herself prefers the simplicity and serenity of nature to the grandness of luxury. 

CRITICAL

After studying this painting, I feel that it is a beautiful symbol of divinity. More than that, this painting is a symbol of freedom of speech and expression. It is has made one of the boldest and progressive statements in Indian art history. This painting is not just a work of art but a religious symbol for thousands in India. This painting brought Goddess Saraswati out of the temple and into our homes. It gave the common man the opportunity to be closer to God. In fact, the mere existence of this painting has given the common people indirectly many rights (untouchables were not allowed inside the temple) that were previously denied to them. Most importantly Raja Ravi Verma’s painting does not falsely glorify the Goddess, rather it shows the Goddess in an extremely pure, raw and genuine form that attracts the devotee with its serenity and divinity. This painting gives the devotees something real and genuine to pray to instead of a glorified image that attempts to force an ideology. Raja Ravi Varma’s Goddess Saraswati is one of the greatest symbols of the power of art. This painting changed lives, inspired millions and changed the face of God. It is a symbol of the immense power of art.