Royal Lady Gets a Bath

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This painting of an Indian lady getting a bath is against a natural background of a warm evening, painted with subtle tones of orange in the sky, most of which is covered by an elaborately adorned curtain in rich violet shade embroidered with golden threads. The curtain, the architecture of the room, and the presence of two maids hint that the lady belongs to an affluent household. On a bed with beautiful marble pillars and floral vines as decoration, the lady sits in the company of her maids who are preparing her for the bath. One of them, who sits behind the lady, appears to be oiling her luxurious hair while the other maid who is on the floor is applying something on her leg or wiping the water off it which her mistress has placed on her lap.

The demeanor of the lady in this oil painting is leisurely and with her open choli (blouse), lehenga (skirt) lifted, and hand placed on the bed to support her weight, she is relishing the treatment she is receiving. Detailing in this painting of the lady getting a bath is visible in the bottle of oil placed near the maid, the indigenous feel of the jewelry worn by both the maids, use of light and dark colors especially in the interior and exterior of the lehenga to differentiate between the light that falls in each portion and the placing of the lady in the middle of the painting to convey her primacy in this scene. The balustrade in the background and the golden pot of pink flowers in the room has given a remarkable character to the room and the entire scene, which remind us of the goodness and pleasures that are to be found in everyday routine.

Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.