Ever since Olympe Ramakrishna, an Indo-French artist, started painting, her favourite muse has been women. She has a lot of reasons as to why women are a constant subject to her works, but she starts with, ‘Why not women?’ “Being a woman myself, I have always been fascinated by femininity,” adds Ramakrishna whose works are currently being exhibited at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore.
The exhibition, Women of Bangalore, has 12 of Ramakrishna’s works, inspired from the women of Bengaluru. “I have to know my subject really well, the kind of people, the likes and dislikes, among others. So, all the women in the paintings are known to me. It is interesting for me as an artist because I already know their personalities,” says Ramakrishna, who went to Les Beaux-arts de Paris, the Academy of La Grande Chaumiere, and the Artmedium Atelier of the 14th district. She also pursued studies in London at the Battersea Arts Centre.
While women in general is a mighty topic to explore, Ramakrishna was clear about what she wanted portrayed in her paintings. “All the women in my paintings come from a middle-class household. They have all a part of them which is very traditional and the other which is extremely modern. Coming from a country like France, this was something that was fascinating and new. They preserve their traditions at home and at the same time, when they go out, they become a different person who is completely modern,” says Ramakrishna, explaining her 12 models.
It is interesting to see that in her paintings she made one of her models dress like a Maharaja. “That particular painting was inspired from the portrait I saw of the Maharaja of Indore. The friend who donned the role is a lawyer. It was fascinating,” she says.
Originally from France, she married an Indian and settled in Bengaluru over a decade ago. She feels absolutely at home, with ‘the dual personality’ of Bengaluru making her fall in love with the city. “Bengaluru is a huge cosmopolitan city but there are parts of it which are still traditional where people still know each other from their neighbourhood, sit outside their homes to share a moment, and look out for each other. I grew up in a village in France and Jayanagar reminds of my home,” she says.