5 October 2024

Andre Gennie

9 Artists Who Drew Draupadi

1. Krishen Khanna

Krishen Khanna painted Draupadi in his 1986 piece, ‘The Humiliation of Draupadi. In this piece, he recreates the horrifying attack on Draupadi from the epic Mahabharata.

2. Yusuf Ali

The painting is a gold-heightened gouache on paper depicting Draupadi relaxing on a daybed in a pavilion while her attendants bring her refreshments.

Varma's first painting commissioned for the Picture Gallery in Trivandrum was ‘Draupadi at the Court of Virat.’ In the painting, Keechaka, who has feelings for Draupadi coerces her.

3. Raja Ravi Varma

Husain in ‘Draupadi (Mahabharata)’ evokes the myth of her marriage to the Pandavas. Husain has here opted to exaggerate Draupadi's stature in comparison to the Pandava brothers.

4. M.F. Husain

5. Bamapada Banerjee

In the painting, he describes the tale of ‘Akshay Patra.’ To avoid being cursed by sage Durvasa, Draupadi prays to Lord Krishna, who performs a miracle making the sage and his student satisfied.

6. MV Dhurandar

In ‘Untitled (Draupadi Vastraharan)’, he plays with shifting body language and facial expressions from each person in the courtroom. He plays with the light, the expressions, and the body language.

The Disrobing of Draupadi is made on a sheet of wasli paper that have been polished and painted with opaque watercolours. Tiny inscriptions in the regional Takri script identify the characters.

7. Nainsukh

Untitled (Draupadi and the Five Pandavas)’ is done in gold paint and watercolour wash on paper. He depicts the five Pandava brothers alongside Draupadi, their common wife, in twilight tones.

8. Ramgopal Vijaivargiya

Anupam Sud uses a visual demarcation in ‘Draupadi’s Vow’ to highlight the contrast. With her hair untied, Draupadi dominates the image plane, her five defeated husbands in the background.

9. Anupam Sud