Michelangelo's masterpiece Pieta, which shows a crucified Christ cradled in his mother's lap, has tugged at people's heartstrings for centuries.
And, artist R. Sivaraman from Nagercoil has paid a fitting tribute to this famous Renaissance painting — he has reproduced Pieta within a 5 x 3-foot frame, and written in miniscule letters the entire New Testament and a few selections from the Old Testament over the sketch and the empty spaces around it.
On the verge of completion, the work is likely to get into the Guinness World Records book.
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Running words defining the cuts and contours of images is a special feature of this work, bordered by sketched scenes from Christ's life. Nothing but lead pencils have been used for all the sketching and writing.
Well protected
Despite this, Sivaraman's work is insulated against damage.
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“A chemical applied over the finished work preserves it,” says 24-year-old Sivaraman, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Government College of Fine Arts.
“When I joined the college, I wanted to do something extraordinary,” says Sivaraman. And, that is how he started inscribing popular writings with images of those who authored them.
His other ‘book-sketching' attempts include writing the Tamil version of the New Testament within a reproduced Pieta (an effort mentioned in the Limca Book of World Records), and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's autobiography within his image.
Inscribing a whole book in miniscule letters within an image set in a small frame takes its toll, especially on his knees.
However, Sivaraman puts in nine hours daily for this work — he believes the toil is well worth it.