Arcadópolis
Shakuntala Writing a Love Letter on a Lotus Leaf
Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1880–1885
What you see
Three women sit close together in the woods, beneath dark trees, with a lake in the distance on the left. On the right, Shakuntala, in pale yellow with a flower garland, holds a green leaf in her lap and gazes upward, lost in thought. The other two lean over the leaf: one in an orange sari, chin in hand, the other in a white veil, her head resting on her hand.
Light gathers on the figures and the cloudy sky, while the foliage and ground stay in shadow. Notice the fawn lying by Shakuntala's foot, the basket of flowers between the women and the finger of the friend in orange, pointing at the leaf.
About Raja Ravi Varma
Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906) was born in Kilimanoor, in the kingdom of Travancore (now Kerala, in southern India), into an aristocratic family linked to the royal house. He joined European academic oil technique with Indian subjects: scenes from the epics the “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana,” goddesses and Indian women. In 1894 he opened a lithographic press in Bombay, and his oleographs of Hindu gods circulated so widely that they became the popular image of those figures.
More by Raja Ravi Varma
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