Caravaggio, NGMA and art

It was a small article in Bangalore Times available at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/from-rome-with-love-caravaggios-50-million-painting-debuts-in-bengaluru/articleshow/121836107.cms that made me curious. A masterpiece from an Italian painter is coming to Bengaluru: that was something interesting. What does a painting worth $50 million look like?! I don't know if (or when) I will travel to Italy to see works of the Renaissance artists. Here is a famous painting from there that was available here. Mentally, I decided that I would go there during the weekend and use the opportunity to see Caravaggio's painting "Magadelene in ecstasy". On Sunday, the day was ideal for walking: the temperature was in the mid 20s in Centigrade, the sun played hide and seek with the clouds even during the morning and afternoon and I overcame my "take it easy, it is Sunday" mood. By 11:50 a.m. or so, I was at the ticket counter of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bengaluru. The only unfortunate part was that my wife was recovering from fever, so I went to NGMA alone. The ticket price is just Rs. 20 for Indian citizens. I was pleasantly surprised.

Manikyavelu mansion which houses the NGMA in Bengaluru is a stately construction spread across 3 acres. I left my backpack containing an umbrella at the museum shop and proceeded to the main building to its left. One of the women staff told me: "Sir, you can take pictures of the paintings but selfies with the paintings are not allowed." I thought to myself: "That is good, I would not want to degrade the masterpieces !"  The ground floor contained an exhibition of art from Air India. Just a few days ago, an Air India flight had crashed in Ahmedabad killing about 300 people in all, a tragic event. Memories of the tragedy came to me even as I saw the Air India Maharaja and how the mascot represented all that was India over the years. Seeing the Air India Maharaja and the advertisements made me realise how a mascot can be representative of a larger sentiment: the Maharaja was more than Air India and in fact introduced India itself to other countries. Thinking about this, the sense of sadness due to the Ahmedabad air crash decreased a bit. With new eyes, I went through the various representations and publicity material featuring Air India and the Maharaja mascot. The icing on the cake was Mario Miranda's cartoons ! His observation skills and tremendous sense of humour are visible in the few cartoons displayed.

This cartoon on training of communication skills made me smile !

In recent times it is the iconic Amul advertisements (https://www.amul.com/m/amul-topical-story has details) that capture the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist of today in India. Forty years ago, it was probably Air India's Maharaja who played a similar role in print advertisements ! I would love to see an exhibition of the Amul girl also, one of these days !

The NGMA has some amazing paintings by Indian artists. I found myself stopping and looking at some of them. The virgin Mary wearing a sari was an unusual depiction of the birth of Christ. In another, there was an almost perfect circle shown for the sun.

Is there one face in this painting or is it two ?!

Horses are a popular theme for the movement and energy associated with them. The Hindu god Ganesha is another favourite. Many artists celebrate the feminine nature. It is good to see that there are brief biographical notes provided of each artist. Typically, each room in the museum contains works of two or three artists. The lighting is good. For the sculptures and physical, three dimensional work there is adequate space provided at the NGMA. I marvelled at the talent and creativity of the artists. Some of the modern art was beyond me, I did not spend too much time on them. Others captivated me. I went from the ground floor to the first floor. Security guards and staff guided me from one room to the next. I finished going through the few rooms in the first floor and headed down another flight of steps back to the ground floor.

Finally, there was the sign indicating the Caravaggio painting ! There were a couple of policemen outside the hall. For a painting worth $50 million, the security was certainly required. It was the climax of the walk around the museum. As https://www.caravaggio.org/biography.jsp indicates, the artist Caravaggio was a person inclined to follow his own mind, rebel at established conventions and somebody who could play with light and shadow in his paintings in a superb way. I read his biography and about the painting in the metro while heading to NGMA. https://www.caravaggio.org/the-magdalen-in-ecstasy.jsp describes why "Magdalene in ecstasy" is considered so highly. There is a huge board near the painting which explains aspects of the painting that need to be seen. One can see a tear at the edge of Magdalene's eye.

The painting looks far, far better in reality. One point I noticed when I saw it: I was struck by the contrast between her right hand and her left hands.

The left hand is markedly darker. Is it symbolic ? The word "sinister" has its roots in the Latin word for the left side, indicating a time when left was considered evil. Is Magdalene's darker left hand symbolic of evil ? I may be taking things too far: perhaps it is only the play of light and shadow. It is not visible clearly, but there is a skull in the bottom left of the masterpiece. The board explained that the skull is disintegrating. In the museum, I clearly saw the skull. In the top, there is also a cross facing the viewer and not Magdalene. The board explained that this is for the viewer to meditate and not for Magdalene ! The ear of Mary Magdalene is detailed. I went back and forth from the board to the painting a couple of times, a matter of a few steps. I could only marvel at the creativity and observation skills of Caravaggio! There is an Augmented Reality (AR) exhibition near the painting but the line for it was too long for me.

I went to the cafeteria. The cost of the snacks was too much: sandwiches were priced at Rs. 150, cutlets at Rs. 100. It was well past 1 p.m. by now, my usual lunch time. I decided to splurge and opted for the sandwich and a cup of tea. While I was waiting for the food, I walked up to the library. I found a book on Caravaggio. I skimmed through the book. The details in his paintings are such that it was possible for horticulturists to identify specific varieties of fruits or leaves, as explained in https://www.caravaggio.org/boy-with-a-basket-of-fruit.jsp. The artist had been jailed in Malta. Thanks to his friends, he climbed the tower of the prison using a rope, got into the sea, swam (at least for some time!), evaded patrol boats and escaped ! In the painting "David with the head of Goliath", it is Caravaggio who is the model for Goliath ! Is this how he saw himself towards the end of his life?
I read the book for only ten minutes, but I got an idea of the artist and his creativity. My sandwich was ready by this time. It was decent, but certainly not worth Rs. 150! The one good point was that the cafeteria has seats placed in a broad L-shaped passage, opening into a courtyard like place. The ambience was relaxing. I saw several people buy cutlets, parathas, rice and generally enjoy their meals after finishing their museum tour.

After the sandwich and the tea, I walked out, refreshed. It looks like artists and sculptors across the world possessed dedication, commitment and observation skills that appear to have dwindled now. Whether is Jakkanachari's vision for the amazing Chennakeshava temple in Belur or Caravaggio's art in "Magdalene in ecstasy", the creativity, imagination and craft involved in making these works of art is peerless. I went to the museum to see what a painting worth $50 million looked like. I came back marvelling at art in general and how it can be a source of humour, joy and introspection.