Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Take home a masterpiece
The poetic grace of Ravi Varma's "Shakunthala" and the mystic nature of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", which invited you to take a second look at them at art galleries or at your neighbour's house, may well be bought and mounted in your own home without your wallet getting thinner substantially. Wondering how?
Many shops sell the works that are either reprinted or copied by an artist using oil, acrylic paints and water shades over medium such as paper, canvas or board.
Sree Balaji Art Gallery on Bhagwan Mahaveer (Infantry) Road is one of the places where you get reprints and reproductions of the works of Raja Ravi Varma, M.F. Husain and da Vinci.
Parsram Mangharam, a publisher who has the rights to print Ravi Varma's works, supplies the reprints and reproductions of his original works to this gallery.
The rates
Ravi Varma reprints are available for Rs. 750 (1'x1.5') to Rs. 15,000 (for a fairly big one). An M.F. Husain reprint measuring 1'x1.5' costs Rs. 2,800. The same sized reproduction of da Vinci costs Rs. 5,000. Of course, the cost depends on the artist, his reputation and the size.
Lithographic prints of masters' works are available at shops such as Regal Decorative and Picture Frames at Richmond Circle.
Lithographic prints are one of the variants of reprint, which come both in paper and canvas with a striking resemblance to the original works when compared to other types of print. You can get the famous collections of Van Gogh, Alberto Valentini, Claude Monet etc.
The most common sizes in lithographic reprints are 10"x10", 16"x20" and 56"x43". When you can buy a 10"x12" reprint costing Rs. 550, the larger size (56"x43") will cost around Rs. 12,000.
The prices of lithographic reprints are fixed depending on the masterpiece's worth, print quality and the size. The frames are wall mountable.
Mahua-The Art Gallery (Rajmahal Vilas 2nd Stage, Dollars Colony) sells lithographic prints of sizes starting from 12"x12" and getting larger up to 48"x36". The price range is Rs. 5,000 to Rs.50,000. This shop also sells screen reprints of famous artists which are priced less than their lithographic counterparts.
Customer care
The paintings are usually ready-to-hang and will be delivered and fitted according to the specification given. Any defects found after purchase of an art piece will be repaired. Replacement of paintings is assured if there is a major damage.
The frames used for paintings are designer PVC frame, teak wood, rose wood, wax and rubber. The frames can be customised to have the needed look — either as PVC with a wooden finish or Medium Density Fibre. The reprint business is now extended to other paintings too. Many dealers in art in the city sell Indian painting styles such as Mysore, Tanjore and Rajasthani and styles from Italy and the U.S.
Deities and traditional dance postures are depicted in Tanjore paintings. Rajasthani artworks painted in silk fabric are also sold. The price ranges from Rs. 400 to Rs. 75,000 depending on the intricacy involved and size of the painting.
Now, get ready to surprise your neighbours by decorating your walls with some reprints and reproductions of masterworks available in the city.
