Gender and Space in the Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and Amrita Sher-Gill

Abstract

The relation of gender and painting is a much debated issue not only in Indian art but also across the globe. In Indian concern of modern painting, this phenomenon has emerged as a critical expression. An artistic perception of onlooker/spectator and ideology of the artist on gender paradigm could be a contemporary topic of study. The space is selected as a criterion to analyze the gender discourse as feminine and masculine perception. In respect of modern Indian paintings, Raja Ravi Varma has been considered one among the first and foremost artists. He executed his paintings on Indian themes with Western techniques and portrayed numerous women with beautiful faces and sensuous appeal. On the contrary, Amrita Sher-Gill, also considered as one among pioneers of modern Indian art, has portrayed women in a different approach. In this way, both artists belong to modern Indian painters and contributed significantly with respect to art revivalism. Therefore, the depiction of women in both of the artists’ works has been compared to explore gender significance vis-à-vis the painted space. A comparative analysis has been carried out between the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and Amrita Sher-Gill through their stipulated space. The background space of the artists’ paintings has a gender-inclined approach from masculine and feminine ideology. The significance of spaces has been evaluated on theoretical perception of some eminent art critics. Further, the background of paintings has been replaced through handmade paintings by using Photoshop as a tool. Thus, this paper is an attempt to evaluate the feminine approach in the works of both artists through the study of their negative and positive space in paintings. It concludes that the feminine characters placed in the interiors of places and household surroundings produce emphasis on gender study.