Although Ravi Varma was known as master portrait artist for the upper echelons of royal society in India, he achieved fame as a pioneer of popular culture, responsible for the mass dissemination of a new visual vocabulary through oleographs. Here, Brahmarshi Vishvamitra is portrayed deep in the throes of meditation. His eyes are closed as he manipulates the prayer beads through his fingers, not noticing the dying embers of the fire. The background is free of much ornamentation, a vessel and some torn clothes all speak to the ascetic life he leads.
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