Raja Ravi Varma paintings without protection, sketches worth crores without attention it need

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The museum's Art Conservation Lab, which was established to preserve paintings worth crores of rupees, including those by Raja Ravi Varma, has been closed for over a year and a half. The museum directorate said that it was closed because the government did not approve the salary hike of conservators.

The aim of the conservation lab, which started its operations in 2021, was to preserve paintings that are more than a century old without losing their freshness. The activities were coordinated by an advisory committee headed by S. Girikumar, a leading senior art conservator in the country. Equipment for preserving the paintings was brought from Germany at a cost of more than Rs. 1.5 crore. In addition to suction tables, fume extractors, and high-end cameras, the lab was equipped with related equipment. Four art conservators selected from leading institutions in the country were assigned to the lab. Similar labs are located at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi and the City Palace Museum in Rajasthan.

A painting by Raja Ravi Varma was sold for Rs 13 crore in a recent auction in London. The museum currently has 56 paintings worth crores. In addition to these, there are more than 96 sketches by Ravi Varma and paintings by other artists. About a hundred paintings have been preserved through more than two years of work in the lab.

The salaries of conservators, starting from Rs. 40,000, were increased after a year. The salaries were stopped after the museum directorate said that the increase required the approval of the finance department. The conservators left after months of arrears. The lab was shut. The equipment imported from Germany is now deteriorating without being used.

The salary hike was done in violation of the law. The file has been handed over to the law and finance departments to resolve it.

P.S. Manjula Devi

Director, Museum

It has been pointed out that the protection of paintings including those of Raja Ravi Varma is of international importance. The government should make other arrangements.

S. Girikumar

Senior Art Conservator