CHENNAI: Over 130 years after Raja Ravi Varma painted one of his most compelling depictions of Ravana, the artwork continues to provoke questions that stretch far beyond mythology. Having sparked courtroom debates, the work has raised questions about authenticity and evidence, and even shaped conversations on how Indians imagine characters from the Ramayana.
These intersections of art, law and cultural memory form the basis of an illustrated talk by Ganesh V Shivaswamy, advocate, author from Bengaluru, who will present Raja Ravi Varma's Ravana in Conflict and Controversy in Chennai on July 19. A fifth-generation lawyer who has spent years documenting Raja Ravi Varma's artistic legacy, Shivaswamy believes legal reasoning can offer fresh perspectives on art history.
Painted in 1895, the painting depicts the Aranya Kanda in Ramayana in which Ravana abducts Sita and defeats Jatayu, the vulture king who sacrifices himself trying to stop the abduction.
This depiction of Ravana has had an unusual afterlife. It has surfaced in disputes over authenticity, questions of government custodianship of art and even contemporary litigation over how the mythological characters should be represented. "Law and art are generally seen as opposing forces, one expressing and the other regulating. But I argue that they have actually held hands in helping us understand history," he says.
One of the key themes of his Chennai lecture is how Ravi Varma's Ravana repeatedly found itself at the centre of legal disputes. According to him, the painting has featured in debates over authenticity, scientific evidence, government acquisition of cultural objects and even contemporary litigation surrounding the portrayal of Ravana in popular culture. One of the earliest disputes centred on the authenticity of the painting, prompting questions about the role of documentary evidence versus oral narratives. Shivaswamy points out that while oral traditions often enrich the understanding of art, legal principles demand verifiable evidence. "Being lawyers, we rely on documentary proof, historians too ,reconstruct events they were never witnesses to, making evidence just as crucial in understanding the past," he says.
Law and art are generally seen as opposing forces—but I argue that they have actually held hands in helping us understand historyGanesh V Shivaswamy
He also drew attention to a Kerala High Court case that questioned whether the government should compulsorily acquire Ravi Varma's works. For Shivaswamy, the case opened up larger questions about the state's role as a custodian of cultural heritage. "If cultural objects are acquired but never exhibited, are we really preserving culture? “
Shivaswamy sees them as opportunities to ask broader questions about who decides cultural memory, how evidence is evaluated and what role institutions play in preserving artistic heritage.
The discussion also revisits Ravi Varma's influence on India's visual imagination. Long before television and cinema reached every household, chromolithographs produced by the Ravi Varma Press carried mythological images into homes across the country.
"Most people hadn't read the original Sanskrit texts written by him, but they had seen Ravi Varma's images. The image itself became the narrative," he says,. His visual language found its way into early Indian cinema, later inspired the illustrations in Amar Chitra Katha, and ultimately shaped how generations came to imagine characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. "The image became the torchbearer of the narrative," he says.
"It is impossible to keep art confined to museums and collectors. It belongs in public spaces. Ravi Varma's greatest legacy was taking art to the common man," he says.
Illustrating the reach of Ravi Varma's work, Shivaswamy points to the familiar image of Goddess Lakshmi found everywhere from homes to auto-rickshaws. While many people may not recognise the Mona Lisa, he says, almost every Indian instantly recognises Lakshmi in a form that traces its origins to Ravi Varma's visual vocabulary.
"The degree and intensity of democracy is simply incomparable with any other artist's legacy, certainly in India and maybe even in the world," he observes, "You can't keep it within the academic circle, the elite circle, the collector circle, the museum circle. Why is it not being propelled into the public spaces?" he says, adding that Ravi Varma's greatest contribution was "to take the image into the hands of the common man."
Despite years spent researching Ravi Varma's craft, it is not the finished masterpieces but the artist's sketches that continue to fascinate Shivaswamy. "In these sketches you see vulnerability, emotion and experimentation before the work reaches its final form. They make Ravi Varma feel deeply human," he says.
Shivaswamy also says he is looking forward to speaking in Chennai, calling the invitation a validation of years of research. He expects the audience to include not only art enthusiasts but also members of the legal fraternity.
Ganesh V Shivaswamy's illustrated talk, Raja Ravi Varma's Ravana in Conflict and Controversy, will be held on Sunday, July 19, at The Lab ,North Boag Road, T Nagar at 6 pm.