Friday, June 13, 2014

Ravi Varma And Jon Mcnaughton Paintings

By Darren Hartley


Ravi Varma paintings were most remembered for their portraits of sari-clad women portrayed as shapely and graceful. They became an important motif at the time, with reproductions found in almost every middle class home. Ravi is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

The earliest mature Ravi Varma paintings were pictures of animals and illustrations from everyday life drawn on the walls of Ravi's house, at the tender age of five. It was his artist uncle, Raja Varma, who first recognized his talent and gave him elementary art lessons. At the age of fourteen, he was taken to Thiruvananthapuram to stay in the royal palace.

Ravi Varma paintings are striking case studies of academic art in India. Ravi was described as the greatest artist of modern India and a national builder showing the moral courage of a gifted high-born who took up the degrading profession of painting.

The focus of Jon McNaughton paintings were memories of open gates leading into lush garden paths, quiet streets, charming homes and poetic landscapes. Jon was an established artist from Utah whose paintings have attracted the attention of collectors from across the country.

The works of the artists from the French Barbizon School of painting provided the inspiration for Jon McNaughton paintings. These consist of softly painted landscapes depicting genre scenes around the French countryside. They contained subtle tones of color and light. They became the springboard for the creativity found in Jon McNaughton paintings.

Jon McNaughton paintings are described as the essence of nature. They were painted from memory after spending many hours of observation and study of the varying nuances of landscapes. The inspiration for a beautiful painting is derived from mental notations and occasional pencil sketches, never from photographs. Jon believes that only the basic elements of a beautiful painting actually exist in nature.




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