Baby & Princess

The work “Baby and Princess” is a beautiful work done by the accomplished painter C. Raja Raja Verma. The painter was the brother of the famous Indian artist Raja Ravi Verma. Though he focused deeper on landscape art, this painting displays one of his few works of portrait art, a depiction of a young woman, playing with a baby. The woman is identified to be Rohini Thirunal Injenji Thampuratty, a royal princess in the Travancore royal family. The child is KR Ravi Varma, the nephew of C. Raja Raja Verma. The young princess is shown waving a bunch of pink flowers above the baby, in play, while the child tries to reach for the flowers with one hand. The work creates a personal space that the observer is privy to, drawing them close to the characters. The dim lighting, coupled with the loose clothing, open hair, and minimal jewellery on the princess, gives the feeling of being in a closed, personal space with the subjects, privy to very few. This tender moment is captured extremely well by the artist. There is a sense of tranquility and domestic bliss for the observer as one stares at the artwork for longer.