Tomina Mary Jose’s exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram celebrates iconic paintings

Tomina Mary Jose has recreated 22 iconic paintings at her solo exhibition, A Study of Great Artists, currently on at Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.

The exhibition includes works of doyens such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Salvador Dali, Piere-August Renoir, William Adolf Bouguereau, Michaelangelo, Johannes Vermeer and Pieter Bruegel.

“Initially I learnt crafts such as metalwork, papier mache and ceramic work at JJ School of Arts and Crafts in Mumbai. When I moved to Chennai I came across artists who were recreating famous artworks and got interested in that,” says Tomina, 59.

One among her earlier works is French artist Renoir’s The Umbrellas, depicting a busy street in Paris with most people carrying umbrellas. She has showcased this work at the exhibition.

Once she settled in Thiruvananthapuram, she became a student of veteran artist BD Dethan and began experimenting with art techniques and mediums. “Although I had my reservations about recreating great artworks, he encouraged me, saying there was nothing wrong with that if I could do justice to the original. It was he who pushed me into exhibiting the works,” says Tomina.

Besides works by her favourite artist, Da Vinci — ‘Monalisa’, ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’ and ‘Saviour of the World’— she has attempted to recreate Dutch painter Rembrandt’s ‘Girl Leaning on a Stone Window Sill’ and ‘A Woman Bathing in the Stream’, French artist Renoir’s ‘The Umbrellas’, Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’, Italian artist Raphael’s ‘The Bridge Water Madonna’ and Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali’s ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ and ‘Birth of a Divinity’ among others.

Tomina has taken liberties in a couple of paintings. In Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, which depicts a girl wearing a striking head scarf and a sparkling earring against a plain background, Tomina has added a floral backdrop, “as per my client’s request.”

She has also experimented on Gustav Klimt’s iconic work, ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’, also called The Lady in Gold or The Woman in Gold, an oil painting with gold leaf. “While all other works at the exhibition are done in oil, this is in oil and acrylic. I have done it in Tanjore style and used Jaipur stones,” she says.

The exhibition ends on April 24. Time: 11am to 7pm.