Raja Ravi Varma’s 29 paintings go missing

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THINK OF the Louvre Museum in Paris admitting with a callous shrug that a Da Vinci or two has gone missing from its gallery. It is well nigh improbable.
But authorities of the government-run Sri Chitra Art Gallery here has not even raised an eyebrow though 29 works of the celebrated artist, Raja Ravi Varma, who gave faces to Indian gods and goddesses, have gone missing.
Now, Archana Narayan, an advocate and member of the Kilimanoor royal family to which Ravi Varma also belonged, is on a mission to trace the lost paintings or bring the culprits to book.
“It is tragic that the government has allowed these paintings to go missing,” she told this newspaper. It was in 1940 that the Kilimanoor Palace handed over 92 works of Ravi Varma — 78 oil paintings and 14 oleographs — as “permanent loan” to J.H. Cousins, the then art adviser of the Travancore government.
When Ms Archana tried to get back some of them to be displayed at the Kilimanoor Palace recently, the museum director disclosed that only 63 of them were with the government. Of these, 10 had been dumped in the gallery store room.
She then lodged a complaint with the police but no action was taken. Frustrated, she has approached the Kerala high court which issued notices to the state government two weeks ago.
“It is regretful and I think there is more to it than meets the eye,” said Bara Bhaskaran, an award-winning painter.
Available records don’t give details of the titles of the paintings. For all we know, the missing works could contain breathtaking vignettes from the Indian epics brought to life by the master artist.