More about the feminine charm
21 Nov 2013 4:12 AM IST
Artiste Raghu Vyas has made a journey from the spiritual to the physical, from the forest with a cavorting peacock and the flute playing Krishna to the feminine charms of Venus/Padmini in his latest series of paintings.
In the current series of his works titled, The Romantic World of Venus where the central female figure has been imagined as having great erotic potential through the overt sexuality of her portrayal, such as the naked female figure Bathed in Moonlight or Leda and the Swans in the Lotus Pond redolently luxuriating in the still waters of pink blooms of padma blooms.
His work is located in the discourse of female beauty and physicality that seeks inspiration from a long visual tradition of sculpting/painting of the female form in voluptuous manner for male pleasure, starting from Greco-Roman era to Renaissance and Neo Classical European art. However, he retains the traditional Indian language of symbol, rendered in visual forms through these seemingly decorative details seen in Mathura, Gupta and Medieval sculpture and Indian miniature paintings replete as they are with various forms of female beauty.
The leitmotif in Raghu Vyas works is that of Venus, the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, the goddess symbolizing beauty, love, femininity, sacred prostitution as well as fertility, plough lands and gardens; depicted in terms of the absolute norms of female beauty.
 As in his works the female form is idealised as ideal slender and elegant, radiating infinite charm, sensitiveness and refinement. Their delicate and fluid movements of irresistible grace, are further enhanced by the flowing lines of their drapery.
The paintings are marked by a great deal of realistic detail that are a hallmark of the artist’s style who uses oil on canvas to capture minute details such as the curl of a lotus frond or the wisp of a peacock feather.
Aquatic symbolism is very strong in the series, as he draws out women in various shades and moods. This is one arresting collection that must not be missed.
In the current series of his works titled, The Romantic World of Venus where the central female figure has been imagined as having great erotic potential through the overt sexuality of her portrayal, such as the naked female figure Bathed in Moonlight or Leda and the Swans in the Lotus Pond redolently luxuriating in the still waters of pink blooms of padma blooms.
His work is located in the discourse of female beauty and physicality that seeks inspiration from a long visual tradition of sculpting/painting of the female form in voluptuous manner for male pleasure, starting from Greco-Roman era to Renaissance and Neo Classical European art. However, he retains the traditional Indian language of symbol, rendered in visual forms through these seemingly decorative details seen in Mathura, Gupta and Medieval sculpture and Indian miniature paintings replete as they are with various forms of female beauty.
The leitmotif in Raghu Vyas works is that of Venus, the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, the goddess symbolizing beauty, love, femininity, sacred prostitution as well as fertility, plough lands and gardens; depicted in terms of the absolute norms of female beauty.
 As in his works the female form is idealised as ideal slender and elegant, radiating infinite charm, sensitiveness and refinement. Their delicate and fluid movements of irresistible grace, are further enhanced by the flowing lines of their drapery.
The paintings are marked by a great deal of realistic detail that are a hallmark of the artist’s style who uses oil on canvas to capture minute details such as the curl of a lotus frond or the wisp of a peacock feather.
Aquatic symbolism is very strong in the series, as he draws out women in various shades and moods. This is one arresting collection that must not be missed.
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