100 Years of Sree Narayana Iconography

100 Years of
Sree Narayana
Iconography
Compiled by Sujit Sivanand
For Global Convention, Universal Brotherhood,
Colombo
19 & 20 December 2010

Iconography
Iconography refers to pictorial material or
imagery that represents a religious or
legendary subject.
These slides briefly present the
characteristics and transformation of Sree
Narayana imagery - (i.e. photographs, fine
art and sculpture) - representing the Guru
through the last century to date.

Importance of iconography
The careful study of Sree Narayana
iconography is important to avoid
misrepresentation of the Guru’s life and
times through wrong portrayals of history.
For example, Narayana Guru never wore
yellow robes, but many sketches, statues
and digitally edited photographs wrongly
portray the Guru in yellow attire.

Background
Traditionally, realistic paintings, charcoal
sketches and sculpture were the popular
methods to create iconography.
Sree Narayana Guru’s birth in the mid-19th
century AD coincided with inventions and
development of photography as a popular
new medium for picturisation.

Challenges
While film/plate photography offered
opportunities for capturing realistic
images, it also posed new challenges to
Sree Narayana iconography.
Non-photographic forms of imagery such
as paintings and sculpture are challenged
with the need for perfection in facial
features (‘likeness’) to Narayana Guru,
necessitated by the existence of
photographs.

Photographs of the Guru
Earliest photographs of the Guru date back
to the 1880s - 1890s, presumably taken in
the Guru’s thirties and forties.
While the Guru gained acceptance as a
revered saint and Vedic scholar during the
1880s, his photographs too seem to have
started appearing in the public domain.

This photograph is
perhaps the earliest
existing image of
Narayana Guru.
Thought to be shot
during the days he
was a teacher in the
village of
Anchuthengu*
(*Anjengo – British India).

This photo is
another one of the
earlier pictures of
Narayana Guru,
thought to be from
the days he was
known as Nanu
Asan.

This picture is
likely to be from
the early 1900s,
when the Guru’s
pictures started
appearing in the
public domain.

In 1916, in connection with the Guru’s 60th
birthday celebrations, one of the now most
popular pictures was available in the
public domain.
The studio photograph (as collaged with a
background sketch) was published by the
studio Klein & Peyrel in Madras.

This studio photo by
Klein & Peyrel was
widely used in
connection with the
60th birth
anniversary
celebrations of Sree
Narayana Guru in
1916.

This popular portrait
of the Guru is a
cropped frame
originating from a
group photograph
shot with his
contemporary sage
Chattambi Swamikal.

Photography was not affordable to all.
Private visits to prominent families that
partronised the Guru were sometimes
documented by a photographing session
with the family members.
Historical social events, such as meetings
and conventions, were documented in
group photographs.

Example of historical events documented.

Examples of private visits documented

A well preserved
print* of a photograph
shot originally in the
precincts of the
Jaggannatha Temple
in Thalasserry.
*Copied recently from the print now at Alummoottil
House, Mavelikara. Copy credit: Cover picture

Portrait sketches of Guru
Since the 1905 industrial
exhibition in Quilon, the
lithographic prints of
this photorealistic
painting titled ‘Sree
Narayana Paramahamsan’
was widely on display
across homes in
Travancore,
Cochin and Malabar
states.

Several hundreds
of sketches of the
Guru have been
created over the
century. Some
have prominence
because of their
formal recognition
in Government and
print media.

A fairly recent
painting by R.
Sukumaran based
on an old
photograph shot
during Guru’s
ascetic life.

Sketches of Guru
This 1953 sketch
portrays Narayana
Guru as the
continuity in a
lineage of prophetic
sages from Gautama
Buddha, Jesus
Christ, Muhammad,
Guru Nanak and
Ramakrishna.

Sculptures of the Guru
The first prominent
sculpture of the
Guru was crafted
in bronze in 1927
by Italian sculptor
Prof. Tavaroli,
whilst the Guru
was still alive.
The statue placed in the precincts
of Jagganatha Temple,
Thalassery.

In 1968 this white
marble statue of the
Guru was crafted in
Varanasi by sculptor
Pasupathinath
Mukherjee. It is
installed at the Mahasamadhi Mandir of
Sree Narayana Guru
at Sivagiri.

Several hundred
statues of the Guru
adorn the chapel like
‘Guru Mandirs’ across
India.
Most of these are
moulded cement
statues, with no
particular aesthetic or
decorative content.

Recent trends include
the creation of bronze
statues.

The ‘Jnana
Vigraham’, crafted
in Trivandrum in
2006, was intended
to improve the
aesthetic and story
telling elements
around Sree
Narayana
iconography.

Realism or
‘likeness’ in facial
features is an
important attribute
to the success of
Sree Narayana
iconography.

Importance of iconography
Carefully planned new iconographic
creations offer opportunities for depicting
the Guru and his teachings through
aesthetically attractive imagery, while
maintaining factual attributes at the core of
the imagery.
Iconographic messages have the power of
‘first impression’ and ‘retention value’ in
the mind of the viewers.

Opportunities in iconography
New creative initiatives could be applied
for spreading the noble messages from
Sree Narayana Guru – the icon of universal
brotherhood.

100 Years of Sree Narayana Iconography

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