Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar

Extremely rare hand-coloured photograph of the young Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. The photograph was painted by the well-known Mysore artist K. Keshavayya.
Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (1919-1974) was the twenty fifth and last ruling Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1940 to 1950. His reign began in 1940 during the onset of World War II in Europe, and concluded with his merging the Kingdom into the Dominion of India in 1947, but he continued as Maharaja until India's constitution became a Republic in 1950. Hayavadana Rao, a noted historian, referred to the Maharaja as a "supporter of every good cause aiming at the moral and material progress of the people".
The artist K. Keshavayya was a Mysore artist known for his work within the Mysore court, particularly during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. He was a member of a family of artists and received a scholarship from the Maharani to study at the Madras School of Arts. One of Keshavayya's works is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.