Raja Ravi Varma's paintings sell for over ₹1 crore on NFT debut

This sale is an interesting instance of how the NFT asset class could alter the way even classical works of art are seen, invested in and owned

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The original Ravi Varma works remain in private collection. Recently documented and restored by the not-for-profit Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation.

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This Foundation secured from the paintings’ current owners the right to sell a unique digitised version of each of the two works.

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The two works — The Coquette, and Reclining Nair Lady — sold for $74,999 (about ₹56 lakh) and $63,999 (about ₹47 lakh) respectively, in an online auction

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The Coquette shows a beautiful and wealthy woman, dressed in a fine sari and heavy jewellery. Reclining Nair Lady reflects contrasts of class

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The online auction held from February 17 to 20 by RtistiQ, a physical and digital art marketplace

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Ravi Varma preferred realism, and he was among the first Indian painters to successfully adapt academic realism to the visual interpretation of Indian mythology

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Impressionism, a movement that revolted against academic artistic conventions in France during the 1860s, had a definite influence on Ravi Varma’s work

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Raja Ravi Varma's paintings sell for over ₹1 crore on NFT debut

This sale is an interesting instance of how the NFT asset class could alter the way even classical works of art are seen, invested in and owned

The original Ravi Varma works remain in private collection. Recently documented and restored by the not-for-profit Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation.

Original work restored

This Foundation secured from the paintings’ current owners the right to sell a unique digitised version of each of the two works.

Rights to sell as NFTs

The two works — The Coquette, and Reclining Nair Lady — sold for $74,999 (about ₹56 lakh) and $63,999 (about ₹47 lakh) respectively, in an online auction

Online aution

The Coquette shows a beautiful and wealthy woman, dressed in a fine sari and heavy jewellery. Reclining Nair Lady reflects contrasts of class

The auctioned paintings

The online auction held from February 17 to 20 by RtistiQ, a physical and digital art marketplace

The auctioneer

Ravi Varma preferred realism, and he was among the first Indian painters to successfully adapt academic realism to the visual interpretation of Indian mythology

Classical Painter

Impressionism, a movement that revolted against academic artistic conventions in France during the 1860s, had a definite influence on Ravi Varma’s work

Artistic influence