Did you know that renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma’s younger brother helped him complete some of his paintings?
A mobile app launched by the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) on Tuesday lets you know interesting nuggets about paintings and installations as it takes a user on a virtual tour of the gallery.
Now you can appreciate rare artworks at the NGMA from the safe confines of your home and even get to know how the artist might have visualised a scene before rendering it on canvas.
“It will help people connect with art in an intimate way,” NGMA Director Adwaita Gadanayak said on the launch of NGMA’s Audio Visual App on International Museum Day.
A clipping about Raja Ravi Varma’s artwork ‘Lady in Moonlight’ mentions that the renowned painter’s younger brother Raja Raja Varma helped him complete some of his paintings as he struggled with deadlines.
While Raja Ravi Varma excelled in portraits, his younger brother’s forte was landscapes.
“It will be possible for museum viewers to listen to anecdotes and stories related to the treasured Indian modern art exhibited at the Gallery, on smartphone, anywhere, anytime,” a Culture Ministry statement said.
The app is available on both the Google Playstore and the Apple Appstore.
Founded in 1954, the NGMA in Delhi has a collection of more than 2,000 artists of the stature of Raja Ravi Varma, Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jaimini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil.
Some of the preserved artworks at the museum date back to 1857.