Brushstrokes of Eternity: How Indian Paintings Continue to Enchant the World
By Kavya Patel | June 2025 Edition | The WFY Magazine | Section: Art & Culture
In the expansive world of visual storytelling, Indian art stands as a luminous thread woven through millennia. From the cave walls of Ajanta to contemporary global art galleries, India’s pictorial tradition is a masterclass in colour, philosophy, and cultural continuity. And yet, amid a digital age of disposable images, certain Indian paintings retain a quiet magnetism, continuing to capture hearts across generations.
Why do some works of art remain etched in our memory, transcending time and geography? What is it about a canvas by Raja Ravi Varma or a symbolic circle in S.H. Raza’s ‘Bindu’ series that makes the soul pause?
This edition of The WFY takes you on an immersive journey through six timeless Indian paintings that not only shaped India’s art history but continue to move diasporic Indians and global collectors alike. With context, critique, and numbers to support, we explore why these works are more relevant than ever.
India’s Fine Art Market: A Growing Global Phenomenon
Before diving into individual masterpieces, let’s take stock of the numbers that underline India’s resurgence in global art valuation:
- According to a report by Indian Art Investor (2024), the Indian fine art market grew by 18.6% in 2023, with auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s reporting record sales of Indian modernists.
- Artprice’s Global Art Market Report ranked India among the top 10 emerging art markets, with a transaction volume exceeding INR 1,250 crore in 2023.
- Indian-origin collectors abroad—especially in the U.S., U.K., and UAE—account for almost 40% of all private Indian art acquisitions, as per the 2023 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report on art exports.
This thriving interest, fuelled by nostalgia, investment confidence, and cultural pride, finds its most compelling symbols in a handful of timeless paintings.
1. ‘Shakuntala’ by Raja Ravi Varma (c. 1870s)
Perhaps the most widely adored canvas in India’s visual history, ‘Shakuntala’ is a lyrical tribute to feminine grace and the art of suggestion. It depicts a scene from Kalidasa’s Sanskrit drama Abhijnanasakuntalam—a young woman feigning to remove a thorn from her foot while covertly glancing back at her lover, King Dushyanta.
Why it endures:
- Ravi Varma’s ability to merge Indian mythology with Western realism revolutionised the way India imagined its epics.
- His use of oil on canvas—still novel in India during his time—elevated Indian themes to a global art vocabulary.
- The painting remains one of the most reproduced images in Indian homes, calendars, and popular culture for over a century.
According to the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation, his paintings are now valued at over INR 8–10 crore per piece in private collections.
2. ‘Three Pujarins’ by Jamini Roy (c. 1930s)
In sharp contrast to Varma’s realism, Jamini Roy’s ‘Three Pujarins’ draws on the Kalighat style—flattened figures, bold lines, and bright natural pigments.
The painting features three nearly identical priestesses, their expressions severe, draped in minimalistic sarees with strong lines defining their form.
Why it endures:
- Roy’s work was an act of rebellion against colonial art styles, marking a return to indigenous idioms.
- It has inspired multiple waves of folk revivalism among modern Indian and diaspora artists.
- With over 20 exhibitions held globally in the last two decades, Roy’s simplicity continues to resonate in a world now craving minimalism.
The original ‘Three Pujarins’ series, as per Christie’s archives, fetched around INR 2 crore in a 2022 London auction.
3. ‘Rabindranath Tagore as a Blind Singer’ by Abanindranath Tagore (c. 1905–1910)
In this semi-mystical portrait, Abanindranath—nephew of Rabindranath—captures the Nobel Laureate in an ethereal dance, blindfolded, with a musical instrument in hand, immersed in rapture.
Why it endures:
- It reflects the Bengal School’s fusion of Japanese wash techniques and Mughal miniature art.
- The painting is both devotional and political—created during a time when the Swadeshi movement called for an artistic renaissance.
- Emotional resonance: it represents the ecstasy of the inner eye, making it universally symbolic of artistic surrender.
Displayed in museums in Kolkata and Paris, the work has been featured in over 35 academic art journals in the past decade.
4. ‘Gaja Gamini’ by M.F. Husain (1999)
Inspired by his muse, actress Madhuri Dixit, this vibrant canvas is not merely a portrait but a celebration of stree shakti—woman as grace, power, and enigma. The title translates to ‘she who walks like an elephant’—a Sanskrit expression for elegant gait.
Why it endures:
- MF Husain’s bold strokes, fragmented figures, and modernist grammar break conventional aesthetics.
- It has become a symbol of Indian womanhood in motion, attracting both feminist interpretation and pop-cultural admiration.
- Husain’s works dominate diaspora auctions; in 2023, ‘Gaja Gamini’ was sold for $980,000 (approx. INR 8 crore) at Sotheby’s Dubai.
It continues to be displayed in global exhibitions from Doha to New York, often symbolising the paradoxes of the Indian feminine ideal.
5. ‘Bindu Series’ by S.H. Raza (1980s–2000s)
A simple dot. A cosmic centre. A geometric universe.
Raza’s ‘Bindu’ is deceptively minimalist. At its core lies a black dot—bindu—the metaphysical point of origin in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.
Why it endures:
- It’s a spiritual symbol universalised through abstraction—hence appealing to Indian, Western, and pan-Asian audiences.
- Raza’s use of vibrant colour fields surrounding the central bindu represents balance, energy, and inner calm.
- The ‘Bindu’ series has become a visual mantra for collectors seeking contemplative, spiritual art.
Raza’s ‘Bindu’ series fetched INR 18 crore at a Christie’s auction in 2023, making it one of the most valuable Indian artworks sold globally.
6. ‘Lady under Moonlight’ by Raja Ravi Varma (c. 1890s)
Unlike his grand mythological scenes, ‘Lady under Moonlight’ is intimate, quiet, and enigmatic. A lone woman, draped in a soft garment, stands bathed in moonlight, her eyes locked with the viewer in haunting vulnerability.
Why it endures:
- A rare female gaze: she does not look down or away—she confronts.
- The interplay of light and shadow in a pre-electric world elevates the scene to cinematic beauty.
- It resonates with viewers across cultures as an ode to solitude, yearning, and introspection.
Though lesser-known, this painting has gained popularity in modern feminist readings of Varma and is now featured in international retrospectives.
Why These Paintings Still Resonate—Especially with the Diaspora
For Indians abroad, these works are not just visual artefacts—they are emotional anchors. They recall:
- The mythologies whispered by grandparents.
- The wedding calendar with Ravi Varma prints on the wall.
- The temple visits, the sarees, the dance performances.
In a 2024 survey by India Art Fair, 62% of NRI respondents said they felt a “deep cultural identity reaffirmation” when viewing Indian classical paintings—higher than any other art form, including cinema and music.
This reaffirms what we know in our bones: art preserves memory, and memory shapes belonging.
Final Brushstrokes: Preserving a Living Legacy
India’s timeless paintings are not museum pieces; they are living companions. They reside not only in auction houses but in homes, hearts, and screensavers across continents.
And as Indian art continues to enter global biennales and digital NFT spaces, one truth remains: its soul is ancient, but its relevance is eternal.
Let us, the Indian diaspora, not only admire these works but invest in their preservation, education, and celebration. For in every bindu, every pujarin, every gaze under moonlight, lies a story that is not just India’s—but ours.
By Kavya Patel
