Cyrus S Poonawalla, industrialist and founder of Serum Institute of India has recently set a record by buying the most expensive piece of modern Indian art - Raja Ravi Varma’s painting Yashoda and Krishna. The painting was sold at the auction at ₹167.2 crore ($18 million approx) after an intense bidding war at a Saffronart sale.
It surpassed the ₹118 crore fetched by M. F. Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra), which was bought last year by Delhi-based collector Kiran Nadar.
Speaking about the painting, Poonawalla said, “This national treasure deserves to be made available for public viewing periodically.”
“And it will be my endeavour to facilitate this,” he added.
All you need to know about Ravi Verma's Yashoda and Krishna Yashoda and Krishna, which was painted in in the 1890s - during the peak of Raja Ravi Varma’s artistic brilliance - captures a deeply intimate moment of maternal affection through the mythological bond between the Krishna and his foster mother. The painting depicts Yashoda milking a cow as an infant Krishna reaches for a goblet of milk from behind, drawing the viewer into the scene, "transforming a domestic moment into an experience that suggests participation in a larger, sacred narrative".
It is regarded as one of Varma's most significant and evocative compositions.
The iconic painting carried a pre-sale estimate of ₹80 crore to ₹120 crore, but finally hammer price soared to more than twice that estimate.
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Saffronart president and co-founder Minal Vazirani called it a defining moment. “Great art has a way of reaffirming its timeless value. The record-breaking sale of Raja Ravi Varma's work not only underscores the strength of the art market, but also sets a new benchmark as the highest-value work of Indian art ever sold.”
"At Saffronart, we are proud to have facilitated this landmark moment. It is not just a milestone for the market, but a powerful reminder of the enduring cultural and emotional resonance of Indian art," added Vazirani.
Some other notable artwork at the auction: Another highlight of the auction is Husain's Untitled work depicting the sacred city of Varanasi. The monumental work reflects Husain's engagement with the rhythms of everyday life at the Varanasi's historic ghats, as strong, confident brushstrokes capture the spiritual and cultural complexity of the holy city.
Raza's "Kundalini" (2001) demonstrates his effort to further refine his most enduring motif of the 'bindu' to its purest expression by moving from a palette of intense primary colours to a predominantly monochromatic one of pale yellows and browns, white, and grey.
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Another important highlight is a rare early Kashmiri bronze sculpture of Buddha, formerly in the collection of noted collectors Nalini and Haridas Swali.