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Enquiry by the officer and the artist

The ongoing art show at Koder Hall, Fort Kochi, pays tribute in unique style to two masters Raja Ravi Varma and Leonardo da Vinci

BEHIND THE MASTERPIECES The show draws parallels in techniques between two masters, Raja Ravi Varma and Leonardo da Vinci.

The ongoing painting exhibition by Investigation and Intelligence officer with the Customs and Central Excise, Francis Antony Kodankandath at Heritage hotel, Koder Hall, Fort Kochi is interesting in more ways than one.

Search, enquiry, examination are part of the officer and the artist's mind as he delves deep to challenge pictorially Dan Brown's deconstruction of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Simultaneously he pays a tribute to legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma, in his death centenary year, by drawing parallels between the two masters: Leonardo Da Vinci and Ravi Varma, separated by over three centuries.

As the artist decodes and cracks the Da Vinci symbology he finds that the two painters separated by time and space, two who never ever met have several factors in common. And to prove that hypothesis, he paints their known works on to two to four canvases explaining the several layers that lie hidden from the common eye. So `Here comes Papa', the familiar and charming Ravi Varma is re-done on four canvases. The questioning finger, a Da Vinci leitmotif as claimed by the artist, points to the mystery of the papa. This is also a pointer to the matriarchal society according to the artist. The dog in the work is enlarged and its wondering expression clearly adds to the mystery man, the papa.

"Technically the two artists had very many similarities," says Francis and to explain the similarities he uses the techniques used by them and reconstructs the works. The first canvas is the sketch of the subject in chalk. In the second canvas he zooms on to individual figures, the third is the background in detail, which gets obfuscated by the more important subject. The final tones in black, a Da Vinci similitude, completes his postulation. This is the reconstruction technique followed by the artist. The Ravi Varmas painted by Kodankandath have a stamped in portrait of the master on as a befitting tribute.

The Last Supper too is done in detail. From locating through symbols the Holy Grail and refuting Dan Brown's allegations of the missing chalice and of the mystery feminine figure beside Christ in the painting the artist has with geometric precision proved his theorem.

Answering the so many whys and hows the canvases are searching and detailed and as they are part of a proof they are answers and not questions that art generally leaves you with. This show is detailed analysis at its best. Works done in acrylic on metal sheet clearly has an antique copper finish.

Francis Kodankandath

To the familiar Ravi Varma images, there's another innovation. . "Taking energy from the characters I am trying to depict the present situation in society," he says and thus makes his present works on show very, very relevant to the times. There is a Sakuntalam done in stained glass effect, which is the artist's individual style he says.

For all these things this art show is extremely interesting and worth spending time over the arguments and counter arguments that arise through the works of the masters reproduced with analytical precision by Francis Kodankadath. The show is on till end of the month.

PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA

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