The Dynamics of Placement and Re-placement: Art-works and Mysore AmbāVilāsa Palace Durbār Hall Space

Abstract

Out of three large collections of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings, those are in Vadodara, Thiruvananthapuram and Mysuru, Mysore Odeyar’s collection was executed in his last years. Princely Mysore AmbaVilasa palace patronised Raja Ravi Varma to produce these excellent mythological oil paintings for the (public) durbar hall wall. However, at present, this series is displayed in the Jayacamarajendra art gallery in Mys?ru. In the lieu of (t)his corpus of works a series of a canvas depicting mother goddess images executed by Silpa Siddhanti Siddhalinga Swami is visible. What was the reason for this re-placement? Did the architectural intervention cause this change and offered an opportunity for Silpa Siddhanti Siddhalinga Swami to contribute to the same wall space? How Silpa Siddhanti Siddhalinga Swami contributed to redefining the relationship of paintings with the (public) durbar hall space? Corpus of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings and Silpa Siddhanti Siddhalinga Swami’s paintings are studied in the context of (public) durbar hall space. Letters and catalogues from archival sources pertinent to the commission (art)work in the context of (public) durbar hall wall and ceiling design competition are carefully scrutinized. The architectural aesthetic reason caused the relocation of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings in the Jayacamarajendra art gallery, which facilitated an opportunity for Silpa Siddhanti Siddhalinga Swami to propound his redefinition of the relationship of (his series of mother goddess) paintings and the (public) durbar hall space, which he had already executed through the ceiling design.