Record-breaking bid at art auction house Saffron: King Ravi Varma's portrait of Balakrishna with his mother Yashoda sold for Rs 167 crore

A painting by the great painter Raja Ravi Varma, who was patronised by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad of Vadodara, has been auctioned off at Saffron Art, an art auction house in Mumbai. Rs 167 crore has been purchased at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. This is the highest ever purchase of a painting in the history of Indian art. Earlier, MF Hussain's painting titled 'Gram Yatra' was purchased at Christie's in New York on March 19 last year. It is not known who bought the painting. This painting was once in the possession of an art collector named Ashish Anand of Delhi. At that time, the curatorial rights were held by the Ganesha Sivaswamy Foundation in Bengaluru. Attempts were made to contact Ganesh Sivaswamy by telephone but he could not be reached. The painting is 89 cm high and 72 cm wide. According to a report by the auction house, the painting is a confluence of Indian devotionalism with European realism. Yashoda Mata is milking the cow Kamdhenu which gives the desired boon and the child form Krishna is standing with a cup in one hand and holding one hand from behind him. The painting was made in the 1890s. Mandaben Hingurao, secretary of the Fateh Singh Museum, said, "The painting was not made in Vadodara. It may be recalled that Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad also invited him to Cambridge in 1888, where he prepared 14 paintings for the Maharaja. The Maharaja also donated Rs 50,000 to Raja Ravi Varma in 1893 to start a printing press in Mumbai. Raja Ravi Varma also had a studio in Vadodara Raja Ravi Varma also had a painting studio in Vadodara. In 1881-82, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad commissioned him to paint this studio in the premises of Laxmi Vilas Palace. There he made many paintings. About 30 of these original paintings are preserved in the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum in Vadodara.