Monday, June 9, 2014

Paintings Of Ravi Varma And Jon Mcnaughton

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 creation of Ravi Varma paintings in oil started during Ravi's stay at the royal palace in Thiruvananthapuram. His stay in the palace, during his formative years, offered Ravi many opportunities to discover and learn new techniques and media in the field of painting. His later years were spent in Mysore, Baroda and other parts of the country.

Ravi Varma paintings are considered modern among the traditionalists and rational among the moderns. They provided the vital link between what is traditional Indian art and what is contemporary between the Thanjavoor School and Western Academic realism. They brought attention to Indian painting from the larger world.

Instrumental to the development of Jon McNaughton paintings was Jon's deep love for the land of his pioneer heritage. These roots traces back to the small town of Grafton, Utah. The great promise that Jon showed at an early age led to a full scholarship to the Brigham Young University.

Because the artists from the French Barbizon School of painting drew during the 19th century, few artists today follow in their footsteps. However, Jon McNaughton paintings drew their inspiration from these Barbizon artists. Artists such as Monet, Pissarro, Van Gogh and Renoir actually made frequent references to these artists so Jon was not alone in his conviction.

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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