$17.9 million for a painting by Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma

In Mumbai, the pharmaceutical and vaccine magnate Poonawala secures it, reaching the stunning record figure

It is 17.9 million, sold at the Saffronart auction house in Mumbai, and it is indeed the highest price ever recorded for a modern Indian artwork. The painting depicts the child god Krishna next to his mother, named Yashoda, as she milks a cow. Raja, who is undoubtedly a painter specializing in images of the gods of the Hindu pantheon painted against backgrounds inspired by European art, is also one of those artists with a deeply rooted influence in Indian artistic culture, always accompanying his people with his pictorial inventions. Born in Kerala, self-taught, with a fondness for Italian and Dutch masters whom he has always drawn inspiration from. The same magnate owner of the Serum Institute of India provided a tantalizing preview after the purchase, stating that the artwork, which was in a private collection in Delhi, “will be periodically made visible to the public,” and this is a splendid gesture of sharing, because if art has the task of giving beauty, it is only right that it be shared and made accessible to all. Through exhibitions and events, while respecting collectors who sometimes, rightly so, do not like to flaunt their collections.

Instacult by Mauro Lama