Tomina Mary Jose at her portray exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Tomina Mary Jose has recreated 22 iconic paintings at her solo exhibition, A Study of Great Artists, presently on at Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.
The exhibition contains works of doyens similar to Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Salvador Dali, Piere-August Renoir, William Adolf Bouguereau, Michaelangelo, Johannes Vermeer and Pieter Bruegel.
“Initially I learnt crafts such as metalwork, papier mache and ceramic work at JJ School of Arts and Crafts in Mumbai. When I moved to Chennai I came across artists who were recreating famous artworks and got interested in that,” says Tomina, 59.
One amongst her earlier works is French artist Renoir’s The Umbrellas, depicting a busy avenue in Paris with most individuals carrying umbrellas. She has showcased this work on the exhibition.
Tomina Mary Jose at her portray exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Once she settled in Thiruvananthapuram, she turned a pupil of veteran artist BD Dethan and commenced experimenting with artwork methods and mediums. “Although I had my reservations about recreating great artworks, he encouraged me, saying there was nothing wrong with that if I could do justice to the original. It was he who pushed me into exhibiting the works,” says Tomina.
Besides works by her favorite artist, Da Vinci — ‘Monalisa’, ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’ and ‘Saviour of the World’— she has tried to recreate Dutch painter Rembrandt’s ‘Girl Leaning on a Stone Window Sill’ and ‘A Woman Bathing in the Stream’, French artist Renoir’s ‘The Umbrellas’, Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’, Italian artist Raphael’s ‘The Bridge Water Madonna’ and Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali’s ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ and ‘Birth of a Divinity’ amongst others.
Tomina Mary Jose together with her recreation of Gustav Klimt’s ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Tomina has taken liberties in a few paintings. In Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, which depicts a lady carrying a hanging head scarf and a glowing earring in opposition to a plain background, Tomina has added a floral backdrop, “as per my client’s request.”
She has additionally experimented on Gustav Klimt’s iconic work, ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’, additionally referred to as The Lady in Gold or The Woman in Gold, an oil portray with gold leaf. “While all other works at the exhibition are done in oil, this is in oil and acrylic. I have done it in Tanjore style and used Jaipur stones,” she says.
The exhibition ends on April 24. Time: 11am to 7pm.