The Hindu : Karnataka News : Restoring rare paintings to their original glory

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Karnataka

Restoring rare paintings to their original glory

R. Krishna Kumar

Portraits adorning Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Seetarama Mandira in Mysore have been restored

Restoring glory: C.S. Jayaramasundaram giving finishing touches to a classic painting adorning Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Seetarama Mandira in Mysore.

MYSORE: A slice of city’s rare heritage encompassing more than 40 paintings has just got that new burnish, thanks to restoration work carried out by a renowned expert from Chennai.

Works of art that adorned the 92-year-old Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Seetarama Mandira have been scientifically restored to their pristine glory under the supervision of C.S. Jayaramasundaram, who headed the Scientific Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Of the 45 paintings, 44 are portraits of classical musicians of yesteryears and embellished the hallowed hall of the temple that is historically associated with classical arts typified by Carnatic music for which Mysore and its rulers were renowned. But the cynosure of all eyes is the work depicting Lord Rama along with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.

And a generation of musicians have rendered concert in its presence in this hallowed temple for classical music as envisaged by the late Bidaram Krishnappa, a doyen among classical musicians, who constructed the temple solely for the purpose of propagating music.

The conservation work entailed a detailed study of the paintings, most of which are at least 80 years old. On close examination, Mr. Jayaramasundaram discovered that old varnished coating had turned yellow and translucent while the pigment was in blister condition, especially near the umbrella. The painting of Lord Rama also had developed cracks in some places apart from the usual accumulation of dust and grime.

“My job was to consolidate the pigments, carry out the chemical treatment to remove the yellow and old varnish and improve the tonal quality of the paintings,” said Mr. Jayaramasundaram, who was involved in preparing the project report for the restoration of the 12th century wonder Angkor Vat temple in Cambodia and a similar restoration of mural paintings in Afghanistan.

Examination of the paintings also revealed that a partial restoration work had been carried out many years ago and hence it was all the more challenging for Mr. Jayaramasundaram to remove those stains without damaging the original work rendered by artist Krishna Rao in 1928. “For the consolidation of pigments, I used wax-resin since this is reversible and in case a new method is discovered in future the wax-resin lends itself for easy removal without damaging or altering the original painting”, he said.

The 44 portraits that have been restored include classical musicians of yesteryears including Chowdiah, Veene Seshanna, Mysore Vasudevachar among others apart from the portraits of the Kings of Mysore, Dasavatara, Tanjore style painting of Lord Krishna, a Mysore style painting of Shiva, Vishnu and Mahishasura Mardhini among others.

The restoration work commenced on February 12 and ever since, Mr. Jayaramasundaram — who has international expertise in chemical conservation and separation of multi-layer paintings — made repeated trips to the city to supervise the project. But, for the main painting of Lord Rama he preferred to personally work on it given the complexity of the restoration work and the importance of the art work.

Restoring this work alone took nearly eight days of continuous work. While the portrait paintings have been restored, the main canvas of Lord Rama will once again adore the temple much before the conclusion of the ongoing Ramanavami music festival on April 28.

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