Kadambari (print from the Ravi Varma Press)

What you see

Kadambari sits on a yellow cushion at the edge of a stone bench curving around a pool. She plays a stringed instrument with a round body and a long neck, held diagonally across her body, and looks to the right. Behind her stretches a palace with arches and balconies; on the left climbs a plant with blue flowers, and on the right stands a large clay pot with a palm.

The colors are flat and bright: the red and yellow of the sari, the blue of the blouse and of the water. Look at the lower left for the peacock-feather fan with its long handle and a green slipper on the floor, and for the signature “Ravi Varma” in the corner.