Yashoda+Adorning+Krishna--Raja+Ravi+Varma

**Yashoda Adorning Krishna **

 * [[image:yashoda_adorning_krishna5.jpg align="left"]]

Artwork Identification** Title: Yashoda Adorning Krishna Artist(s): Raja Ravi Varma Date: Period: Realism/Traditional Indian Country of Origin: India Cultural/Ethnic Affiliation: Indian Medium: Oil Painting Dimensions: Museum/Collection: Accession Number: Current Location and Manner of Display: Huzur Mahadi Palace, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu. Provenance:


 * Introduction:**

Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian painter; born April 29th,1848 in the Kilimanoor Palace to Umamba Thampuratti and Neelarandan Bhattathiripod. He began drawing on the Palace walls at the age of seven and from there his uncle Raja Raja Varma, a Tanjore painter, placed him in formal lessons. Raja Ravi Varma studied under his uncle, Rama Swany Naidu and Theodor Jenson, a British artist. Through this exposure to European painters, Varma eventually was able to successfully fuse the style of traditional Indian arts with European Realism. His works consist of subjects from Hindu epic stories and characters from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Raja Ravi Varma is considered “closer in spirit to Ingres and Manet or even the Pre-Raphaelites, than to his immediate Western contemporaries, Cezanne and the young Picasso” (Sinha). The effects of his art influenced parts of India in a variety of ways, “In Udaipur and Mysore where he enjoyed state commissions, he came to enjoy a haloed status” (Sinha). In Raja Ravi Varma’s art, his primary subject matter revolved around women and Indian womanhood. In 1991, Raja Ravi Varma and his art became extremely marketable due to the “Ravi Varma retrospective at the National Museum” (Sinha). He died on October 2, 1906 from diabetes. He was 58 years old.

"Yashoda Adorning Krishna" depicts an Indian woman (Yashoda) adorning a young Indian boy (Krishna) in lush jewels. In Hinduism, Krishna is believe to be the supreme person, the Godhead. Krishna is the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the greatest books of wisdom in Hinduism. Krishna is God and the source of everything. He is the only avatar to manifest himself in full human form. He is believed to have transcendental form, an eternal youth. The Vedas describe Krishna as beautiful, a youth with a glowing complexion of rain clouds. He plays the flute, attracting the hearts of all. Krishna is typically depicted with a peacock feather in his hair, a flower garland around his neckand toe nails that resemble the light of the moon. Krishna belonged to the royal family of Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva. Mathura was the capital of the Yadavas, to which Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki belonged. The king Kamsa, Devaki's brother, had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth son, he had locked the couple into a prison cell. After Kamsa killed the first six children, and Devaki's apparent miscarriage of the seventh, being transferred to Rohini as Balarama, Krishna took birth. Since Vasudeva believed Krishna's life was in danger, Krishna was secretly taken out of the prison cell to be raised by his foster parents, Yashoda and Nanda in Gokula. Yashoda became stepmother to Krishna and it is said that she loved him as if he were her own. Images of the young Krishna with his stepmother Yashoda are said to abound in Hindu religious imagery. In this artwork, "Yashoda Adorning Krishna," a jewelry box lays open to the left of the Yashoda. She is dressed in traditional Indian clothing and wears jewelry around her neck, wrists, fingers, and nose. The young Krishna is standing on top of a blue pillow making which brings him closer in height to that of his mother, Yashod. This makes them appear as though they are equal even though Krishna is a young child. Krishna is clothed only in beads and wears a head dress containing a peacock feather. As he looks directly towards the viewer, Yashoda reaches toward him holding, a bracelet with her eyes focused on the boy as she looks lovingly at him. The two are standing in a room in front of shelves filled with pottery, gold plates, and vases. The figures are illuminated by light coming from a window to the left.
 * Descriptive Analysis:**

One of Raja Ravi Varma’s great works is a painting titled, “Yashoda Adorning Krishna”. This oil on canvas painting shows Yashoda dressing her son, Lord Krishna, in jewels. This painting is haptic and has a sort of idealized quality about it. The smirk on the young Krishna’s face alludes to him being mischievous, as he was said to be as a young child. The composition of the painting is stable with little to no movement. “Yashoda Adorning Krishna” is a painting similar in subject matter to paintings done in the West of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. Both Yashoda and Mary show great care and motherly attention to these major figures in history.Also, the young child appears monumental as he is on the same plane and height of his mother, a grown woman. This is done in a paintings of the West when depicting the baby Jesus. He is typically depicted as much larger than what an actual child of that age would be and is done to show is power, protection and reign over humanity. Also in paintings of the West, the baby Jesus will look out at the viewer while the Virgin Mary will either look away or look longingly and lovingly at her son. The same is done here which alludes to the power and importantness of Krishna in the Hindu religion.
 * Formal and Contextual Analysis:**

Upon viewing this painting, if you had little knowledge of the Hindu religion or culture, then you may not think too much about it other than that it is a painting of mother and child. However, I believe one could conclude, even if having little knowledge of Hinduism, that this was no ordinary mother and child. Cleary, this child is special and important in some way for the mother is adorning the child in lush jewels and the child looks directly out at the viewer, becoming the main focal point, while the mother seems to stare longingly and lovingly at her young child. For someone having knowledge of the Hindu religion, we know that indeed, this is no ordinary child. This is the young Krishna, he is adorned with a peacock feather in his dark hair. The peacock feather is one of Krishna's specific attributes which allows the viewer to identify the young boy. Krishna is also typically described to have skin with a dark blue hue. In this painting, Krishna is not depicted in such a manner but rather stands upon a pillow which not only elevates him, giving him prominence over his mother but also could allude to the dark blue hue attribute of Krishna. The pillow he stands upon is of a rich, dark blue color. Again, we know that this is a child of importance because of the lavish jewels he wears.  1. [] : Biographical information about the artist as well as a few images of some of his works. 2. [] : Information stating where this artwork is currently located. 3. [|www.enotes.com/topic/yashoda] : Information about Yashoda and how she became the foster mother of Krishna. Also, information about Krishna and his childhood. 4. [|www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/krishna] : Detailed information about who Krishna is in the Hindu Religon, his importance in the religion as wel as the culture. 5. [|www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yasoda] : More detailed information about who Yashoda is. Also tells of some of the childhood episodes of young Krishna while growing up in Yashoda's home. 6. [|www.krishna.com] : Further detailed information about Krishna pertaining to the Hindu Religion and where Krishna falls in Hindu religious texts.
 * Personal Interpretation:**
 * References:**

**Title:** Two great looks that look great together!
 * Art Lesson Plan 1**
 * Level:** Upper Elementary 4th-6th
 * Time:** 4- 5 50 minute class periods.

This lesson meets the following [|National Arts Education Standards]: VA 5-8. 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas (2) VA 5-8.4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures (1) VA 5-8.5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others (2) VA 5-8.6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines (1)
 * Standards:**

This lesson meets the following [|National Educational Technology Standards for Students:] 1 Creativity and innovation -- C 2. Communication and Collaboration --- A & D 3. Research and Information Fluency --- D 6. Technology Operations and Concepts --- A & D

•Raja Ravi Varma uses art fusion to combine two styles to create his own unique style. He was influenced by both his Native Eastern Indian culture and European painters. He was successful at fusing Indian traditional art with European Realism. •Raja Ravi Varma used Hindu epic tales as a main subject for his paintings and depicted Indian Hindu Goddesses as Indian women wearing traditional South Indian dress such as silk scarves and saris.
 * Significant Key Concepts:**

Teacher preparation: Powerpoint presentation including 4 slides, one prepared in Photoshop*, take home handout, rubric.
 * Teaching and Learning Activities:**
 * Using Photoshop, prepare the slide four image in the center of a white background. Label one side "foreign influence" and the other "native influence." Example included below. Make this the background image for slide four. Make sure slide presentation is loaded on all available computers.

//Activity one: Indian Art vs. European Realism: What do you see?// Whole Group Activity (Power Point) ____ Image shown above. Image Information - Raja Ravi Varma was an artist from India who grew up experiencing Indian culture and art. When he was a young man, he was exposed to other artists from Europe who painted in a different style and used different subject matter. He learned from these artists but he never forgot what he learned from his Indian culture. He became a famous painter because he was able to merge these two cultures together to make his own unique style. ( 5 min.)

__[|Slide 2: Tanjore style painting]__ Image Information - This is an example of a type of painting that Raja Ravi Varma might have seen while growing up in India. Varma’s Uncle was a Tanjore painter. The Tanjore style painting features gods and goddesses from Hindu mythology.

Game: “What do you see?” (15 min)
 * 1) Keep image displayed. Ask students to name what they see. Encourage students to name objects they see, colors, subject matter, and specific art elements and how they are used.
 * 2) Write their answers on the board underneath the heading, Local Influence: Indian Art

__ __ Image Information - This is a painting by a French artist named William Bouguereau. He was associated with an art movement called REALISM. “Realism is a visual art style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see” This is an example of a type of painting that might have influenced the work of Raja Ravi Varma.

Play the game: “What do you see?” (15 min)
 * 1) Keep image displayed. Ask students to name what the see. Encourage students to name objects they see, colors, subject matter, and specific art elements and how they are used.
 * 2) Write their answers on the board underneath the heading "Foreign influence: European Realism."

After the students are done with the second portion of "What do you see?" game leave or save the information gathered from this activity. Finish this portion by asking students to think about how these images are different in mood, color, composition.

//Activity Two:// //Art Fusion: Follow the influence.// Small Group Activity __ __

Break students into groups of three or five based on how many computers you will have access to. Assign one person to do data entry for the group. The group will work together to label the image with the characteristics influences that led Varma to be this type of painter.

This is a painting by Raja Ravi Varma. Look closely. Where do you see the influences of his Indian culture and where do you see what he learned from the European painters? With your teammates, list as many characteristics as you can think of and fill them into the proper categories. Refer to the previous slides and the information listed on the board if you need help. Be sure to save your work! (15 min.)

Teacher: Collect individual group answers using a jump drive. Use any extra time for class discussion.

Class discussion question: Can you think of any examples in your own world that illustrate the concept of cultural fusion? i.e. clothing styles, architecture, hair styles, music etc.

//Activity 3: Modern day superheroes--//Create original Art Work Group Brain-Storming: The gods and goddess of Hindu mythology often acted like super heroes. For example, Vishnu, a Hindu god, could take on a new form in order to save humanity. Raja Ravi Varma used Hindu gods and goddess in his paintings but made them appear as if they were regular everyday people that he would see in his neighborhood. He learned this approach of painting things as they would appear in real life from the Realist painters of Europe. Each student will have time after the discussion within their sketch books to write down their ideas and develop sketches. Each student must develop a minimum of 3 possible sketches for their mythological creatures or superheroes. Discussion Questions: Can you think of any examples of a myth or a superhero that are popular in our culture? How could you represent this character in everyday life? What would this superhero or mythological creature wear or do if he or she lived in your neighborhood? What kind of artistic style would you want to use?

Before class, remind students of the powerpoint and photoshop activities by displaying the original slideshow including the student group answers.

Have students fill “Art Project Idea Form” and begin preparing sketches for project. Allow students class or media center time to research and formulate their plan. Students will make choices about how what type of media they would like to use to complete this project. Students will complete the form by responding to the following items.

//Art Project Idea Form// What is the working title of your art project? Explain your idea - What figure(s) are you using as your superhero(es)? How will the viewer recognize the figure? How will you represent this character in everyday life? What will this superhero or mythological creature wear or do if he or she lived in your neighborhood? What kind of artistic style are you going to use? What media do you plan to use and why? How long do you estimate it will take you to complete this work? Include four sketches on scrap paper of your idea. Submit them with this form.

Once the students have formulated their plan through the //Art Project Idea Form// allow an additional two class periods to finish project.

Assessment:
Whole group activity (5pts) Small group activity (5pts)
 * Did student pay attention and contribute?
 * Did the student show respect to other students and teacher?
 * Did student work well within the group?
 * Did the student show respect to others ideas?

Art Project (20 pts) Total 30pts
 * Art project idea form completed
 * Did student understand the concepts presented by demonstrating the concepts within their art work?
 * Completed art project that displays student's best work.