Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER - WOMEN IN MY PAINTINGS

Beauty is a characteristic of a Person, Animal, Place, Object, or Idea that provides a perceptual experience of Pleasure, Meaning, or Satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of Aesthetics, Sociology, Social Psychology, and Culture. An "Ideal Beauty" is an entity which is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture, for perfection.

The experience of "Beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being. Because this is a subjective experience, it is often said that "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder."

We have a long history of using Women as objects d'art.

Each time in history has its own idea of 'beauty' and from early times artists have recorded their particular version of 'beauty'. Throughout the ages, the image of the 'ideal' beauty has been subject to the trends and politics of the times.

Women in Raja Ravi Varma's Paintings

I have been fascinated by the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma since my childhood. Great injustice has been done to the artist Ravi Varma in our country because he used modern hues and oils in his work and because of the western influence in his paintings. The critics said his was not Indian art. To me, Ravi Varma is not only among India's greatest artists, but also a great patriot. His depiction of the beauty of the Indian woman is unequalled in Indian art.

I have tried to capture the beauty of Women in Raja Ravi Varma's paintings in some of my works.

"Hamsa Damayanthi" rendered in Oil on 24"x36" Canvas.....

"Maharashtrian Lady" in Oil on Canvas 18"x24"

"Lady Holding a Fruit" in Oil on Canvas 16"x22"

"Kadambari" in Oil on Canvas 75"x90"

Realistic ART

The creation of Realistic art has been the goal of most artists since the dawn of civilization. Realistic art was the pride of ancient Greece. The world's greatest museums are full of realistic art. Realistic art WAS art until the advent of the abstract expressionist movement in the twentieth century.

By my own definition of art, which is: "anything that makes you feel or think" most abstract paintings are not "real art" to me personally, because abstract paintings usually neither make me feel or think, usually focusing obsessively on technique and avoiding any coherent content. I usually draw a complete blank mentally and emotionally when I look at them.

By the begining of the 21st century something as destructive and ridiculous as nailing a pack of cigarettes to a shoe was considered fine art but not realistic paintings. Fashions in art have often been as silly as fashions in ladies Swim Suits.

Some more realistic art works by me on "Women"
have been displayed below....

"Indian Lady" in Oil on Canvas 18"x24"

"Indian Princess" in Oil on Canvas 18"x24"

"Sensuous" in Oil on Canvas 24"x36"

Vivacious- Oil on Canvas (24in x 36in)

Solitude - Oil on Canvas (22 in x 30 in)

WOMAN AS TEMPTRESS IN EUROPEAN ART

Salacious- Oil on Canvas (24 inx36 in)

Women were portrayed as beautiful and trusted members of the society in the early European art world; their bodies were worthy of veneration. In contrast, in the post-Renaissance paintings, women were represented as an object, devoid of all human feelings. In most of the modern Realistic paintings, women were depicted sexually appealing.

Rob Hefferan is an exceptionally talented figurative European artist. His work not only captures the unique character and warmth of each subject, but transcends form to suggest the living, breathing essence of the individual. I have tried to simulate the sensual Nudity portrayed by Rob Hefferan in the painting below...