Artist Rumale’s paintings bring old Bengaluru to life at Salar Jung Museum

Hyderabad: As part of its programming to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Salar Jung Museum, a retrospective exhibition of the famed artist and laureate Rumale Chennabasaviah is currently on display until May 25.

Titled ‘Barna Mythri’, which means harmony of colours in Kannada, 80 major works of the 20th century artist’s paintings will be on display for the exhibition at the Salar Jung Museum (SJM). The selection of water colours and oil paintings drawn from the Rumale Art House in Bengaluru also will complete 53 years of its establishment.

Rumale through his work in the 20th century had captured a different Bengaluru, which is called the ‘Garden City of India’ for its greenery. His paintings are known for capturing very vividly the green landscape of the city, showcasing a side of Bengaluru which in some ways has disappeared in the concrete jungle that has developed over the last few decades especially.

“Rumale’s paintings are a vibrant and inclusive reflection of the natural world that surrounded him in the garden city of Bengaluru create an idiom that has hardly in parallels,” said the SJM in a press release on the exhibition.

The Bengaluru, who came up with a huge body of works between the 1970s and 1980s (considered unprecedented in terms of individuality), is widely today known for his paintings of colourful trees in Bengaluru especially. From the greenery of the Karnataka High Court to the foliage of Cubbon Park, one can get a sense of a bygone era from Rumale’s work today.

The late artist was also more than just his work. He played an active role in the Indian freedom movement at a young age, choosing to set aside his artistic work. Post independence however he resumed painting in his mid-50s , following which he came up with his massive body of work.

“A large number of Rumale’s paintings are housed in the Rumale Art House (Est 1973), Bengaluru. The life and times of the artist will be brought alive through his personal memorabilia, drawings, and videos featuring interviews and visitor responses,” said the museum on the exhibition.

The exhibition, which began on April 12, is on display till May 25, until regular museum hours.

About Salar Jung Museum

The SJM in Hyderabad, which was designated in 1951 of national importance by the Government of India, has a 50,000 strong collection of art work, which was a result of collecting by three generations of the Salar Jungs, the prime ministers of the Nizams.

Over the last seven decades the Salar Jung Museum and collections of miniature paintings, textiles, sculptures, European and East Asian Art as well as a variety of decorative art objects have been on display for the public after the family’s collections were turned into a museum, after the death of Salar Jung 3, Yousuf Ali Khan, who had no direct heirs.