Who is Giampaolo Tomassetti? PM Modi’s post sheds light on Italian painter’s Mahabharata masterpieces

Italian painter Giampaolo Tomassetti is in the news after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him during his visit to Italy and praised his decades-long engagement with Indian culture. During the meeting in Rome, Tomassetti presented Modi with a painting depicting the ghats of Varanasi, prompting the Prime Minister to describe it as “a glimpse of Kashi in Rome.”  

Tomassetti has drawn attention globally because of his unusual artistic journey into Indian civilisation and Hindu epics. According to reports, his fascination with Indian culture began more than four decades ago in the 1980s, when he started working as an illustrator for books based on Vedic traditions.  

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He later became widely known for an ambitious Mahabharata project that took years to complete. Before beginning the paintings, Tomassetti reportedly spent nearly five years studying the Mahabharata in depth. He then devoted around 12 years to creating a large collection of paintings inspired by the epic. Between 2008 and 2013, he completed 23 large-scale works based on scenes from the Mahabharata.  

His paintings are known for blending:  

• Renaissance-style realism,  
• Indian spiritual symbolism,  
• elaborate palace and battlefield settings,  
• and cinematic depictions of characters like Krishna, Arjuna and the Pandavas.  

Many viewers online have compared the works to European biblical frescoes because of their scale, detailing and dramatic compositions.  

Tomassetti’s work has also developed a strong following online. Reddit discussions about his Mahabharata paintings have praised the fusion of European Renaissance techniques with Indian epic storytelling. One widely shared post described how the Italian artist spent years studying the Mahabharata before producing the final collection.  

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The renewed attention around Tomassetti also comes amid strengthening India-Italy cultural ties during Modi’s Italy visit, where both countries elevated their relationship to a “Special Strategic Partnership.”

Tomassetti’s work is also tied to the Vaishnava spiritual movement in Italy. He later became associated with devotional art circles connected to Vedic traditions and is sometimes referred to by the spiritual name “Jnananjana Dasa.”

His paintings and illustrated Mahabharata volumes have circulated among art collectors, spiritual communities and readers interested in Indian epics outside India. Over time, he became deeply immersed in Hindu epics, especially the Mahabharata.