Muse Worthy

The works of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt,continues to be a source of inspiration for several Delhiites. Last year,Delhi photographer Rohit Chawla turned his well practiced eye on recreating beauties,the way legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma would have seen them. City socialites Kalyani Chawla,Anoushka Shankar and Feroze Gujral posed,dressed in ornate Indian clothing looking,pun unintended,pretty as a picture.

This year,Chawla who clearly thrives on prolific inspiration has come up with a limited edition calendar,based on the works of Klimt,the founder of the Vienna Secession school of painting. The ladies in attendance are actor Chitrangada Singh and socialites Ayesha Thapar and Priya Chatwal. The calendar launch on January 16,will also see a week-long exhibition of the 12 photographs at the India Habitat Centre.

Chawla,chanced upon the works of Klimt at Neue Galerie in New York that was showcasing his masterworks in 2006— one of the most remarkable work being the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer,a 19 th century society hostess of a renowned Viennese Salon. “When I saw Adele Bloch-Bauer at the gallery,I was struck by the use of gold and the fabric of her gown. What people don’t know is that she is equally famous as the Austrian Mona Lisa,” he says. He collaborated with Manoranjan Mukherjee,70,to set up the rich props as a background for the pictures. Look out for Chitrangada Singh in a sparkling gold robe,every bit the grand dame of fashion. Thapar,meanwhile,is resplendent in yellow robes in the photograph,The Kiss,snuggled next to a male model.