On the occasion of the 176th birth anniversary of master artist and national treasure Raja Ravi Varma (that falls on 29th April), the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation presents “Daughter of Providence” a first of its kind exhibition on the life and times of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi (1895-1985), the last ruling queen of Travancore and Ravi Varma’s eldest granddaughter.
The exhibition will be on display between 29th April and 30th May at the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation, Mezzanine Level, 38 Maini Sadan, 7th Cross Lavelle Road, Bengaluru 560001.
Conceptualised by the Foundation with research and documentation by historian Dr. Manu S. Pillai, author of the award-winning The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore, the centrepiece of the exhibition will be a stunning, never before seen, original oil painting of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi as a three year old child, painted by her grandfather Raja Ravi Varma as a present to her.
The exhibition will also showcase a collection of photographs of the Maharani and her life, narrated visually in different chapters. A magnificent oil painting by the Maharani’s first granddaughter, Bharani Thirunal Rukmini Bayi Thampuran, also the Chairperson of the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation, will be on display.
Gitanjali Maini, Managing Trustee & CEO of the Foundation says: “While the focus of the Foundation remains on documentation and preservation of Raja Ravi Varma’s work, we often come across paintings done by the artist that have never been seen, researched, documented or published before they reach out hands. It therefore becomes the responsibility of the Foundation that such paintings are talked about and displayed for the world to see. This painting of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi as a three year old girl, is one such work that needs to be spoken about and shared with anyone who has a love for Raja Ravi Varma and his work. “
