6 timeless Indian paintings that still capture people's hearts

Art has forever mesmerised people. From the movements of air it captures with swaying grass and clothes, to the stillness of the night when just the moon lights up the sky, art can do it all. And be it in the form of paintings, photographs, or music, or sculpture, art, in its many ways, has always touched people.
And between the conversations about Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ and Caravaggio’s ‘Medusa’, here we mention 6 timeless Indian paintings that still capture people’s hearts.

One of the most iconic works of Raja Ravi Varma, the man credited with taking Indian arts to the global stage, is ‘Shakuntala’, the painting of Dushyant’s love. ‘Shakuntala’ is based on a scene from Kalidas’s classic Sanskrit play ‘Abhijnanasakuntalam’ and captures the moment when Shakuntala looks back in an attempt to remove a thorn from her foot, but is actually trying to sneak a glance at her beloved Dushyant. But her trick does not go unnoticed, and some of her friends laugh at her while looking in her direction.
The painting is filled with playful love and hidden emotions, and Varma captures it with elegance, detail, and a touch of theatrical charm.

(Image: ravi_varma_heritage_foundation/Instagram)

A bright, bold, and beautiful painting that captures 3 women is this one. Done in the Kalighat painting style, ‘Three Pujarins’ is all things bright and beautiful with minimal but strong colours, flat patterns, sleek lines, and an expression of sternness on the women’s faces.
Each of the pujarin is slightly different, but still look strikingly similar, and their sarees are a mix of blue and black, and on their faces are small naths (nose rings) and their squinted eyes. (Image: rooftop_app/Instagram)

One of the most iconic paintings by Abindranath Tagore has to be this one. It is beautiful, bright, emotional, and oh-so-different than his other creations.
A painting of Rabindranath Tagore, this one shows him in an ecstasy-like state, dancing with a musical instrument in his hand, his eyes closed, and his clothes swaying with his steps. The use of colours is soft, has earthy tones, and a mist-like finish that makes it exceptionally beautiful.

(Image: thegreatbengalstory/Instagram)

‘Gaja Gamini,’ which means ‘the walk of an elephant,’ is a painting that celebrates womanhood, feminine beauty, elegance, and more. Inspired by Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit, who was Husain’s muse for the longest time, this painting shows feminine grace, strength, and movement.
Delighting and captivating the audience, MF Husain's brush dances across the canvas, using bold strokes, fragmented forms, and vibrant colours. (Image: marigold__arts/Instagram)

The icon of SH Raza, and the start of Indian minimalism, the ‘Bindu’ is a painting of great charm and beauty. And the beauty of the ‘Bindu’ lies in its symmetry and geometry, with each dot in the center looking more enhanced than the other.
The Bindu (dot) is described as a symbol of creation, focus, and the beginning of all life, and Raza’s creations are all things bold, bright, minimal, and yet beautiful. People could look at ‘Bindu’ and stay glued to their places, almost as if the circles have roped them in a hypnosis. (Image: gallery_g_arts/Instagram)

A rather lesser-known painting by Raja Ravi Varma, but one that deserves so much more appreciation and love is ‘Lady under Moonlight’.
It shows a lone woman, looking directly at her audience, with her face lit up with the moon behind her, and her eyes telling a thousand stories. She has a beautiful saree-like fabric draped around her, and as she clutches a part of it, she looks even more intently into the eyes of the audience, as if asking them something. The colours are bright and dark, there is a hint of grace and femininity, and the eyes take the trophy.

(Image: ancientindianart/Instagram)