Raja Ravi Varma's name conjures
a vision of an artist who was revolutionary in his contribution to
Indian Art. A popular & significant artist of his time, he was
a prominent representative of Europeanised School Of Indian
Artists. His Oleographs of Indian Divinities still survive in many
homes & shrines & are framed & sacredly worshipped for
posterity. The Hindus of India will ever cherish the memory of
Raja Ravi Varma for creating, with his inimitable style, paintings
of Goddesses Lakshmi & Saraswati, Sita, Shakuntala, Damayanti
& Draupadi. Even after a century, he is still one of the most
celebrated painters of India.
Prince or Zamindar of that time, in India,
who did not secretly covet the privilege of getting at least one
portrait of his painted by the immortal Artist. Raja Ravi Varma
transformed the simplest vignettes from life into masterpieces of
breath-taking beauty. He took Indian Art to a new pinnacle, giving
to the admiring world, inspirational paintings. He patronized the
royal houses of Travancore, Baroda, Mysore & Udaipur, where
his paintings can be seen to this day.
Mainly self-taught,
Raja Ravi Varma grew up in the small village of Killimanoor, in
Kerala. Born on 29th April 1848, he hailed from a princely family.
Ravi Varma started to display his inclination to creativity at the
tender age of five or six & his uncle Raja Raja Varma, the
artist, detected signs of a possible genius from these pictures
& on him rested the distinction of initiating Ravi Varma into
the rainbow world of lines and colours.
Receipient of The
Governors Gold Medal at the Madras Exhibition in 1873 & 1874,
Gold Medals at the Chicago Exhibition in 1893 & the
Kaiser-I-Hind in 1904.
Raja Ravi Varma passed away on 2nd
October 1906. Tributes Dr. Abanindranath Tagore, connoisseur of
Indian art, most aptly encompasses the personality of Ravi Varma
in a single sentence. It is rare to come across in these days,
men like him, artists like him, lovers of India like him.
Apart from the prints listed below, we have a set of portfolios
of Raja Ravi Varma. Click
here to buy Raja Ravi Varma's Portfolios
We also have a fantastic collection of geniune Tanjore
paintings. Click
here to see the
selection!
