'Winnowing' - on sale for Rs 8.3 million

Kolkata, Jul 29: Renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma's original masterpiece has been listed on the eBay India website and art lovers can grab it for Rs 8.3 million.

Titled ''Winnowing'', this striking painting is a previously unpublished work of the artist and is available for sale at the website - ''www.ebay.in''.

''This painting has already been receiving overwhelming response from all over the world, including far-off places like Uganda, since paintings by Raja Ravi Varma are extremely rare to find as most of his famous works are in museums or national galleries,'' Mr Rajesh Parekh, an eBay India seller, said.

''Winnowing'', an oil painting on jute, depicts a sylvan farming scene. This creation is assumed to be painted in 1891 and bears the same signature, ''R V'', which appears on his other famous paintings.

An artist who is credited with bringing about a momentous turn in the art of India, Mr Raja Ravi Varma was the first artist to cast the Indian gods and mythological characters in natural earthy surroundings using a European realism.

UNI