Raja Ravi Varma was born in the village of Kilimanoor, near the princely state of Travancore in Kerala in the year 1848. Born into an artistic family of poets, scholars and artists, Ravi Varma showed a natural aptitude towards painting, which was encouraged by his creative family members. Having been brought up in a traditional environment, Ravi Varma was exposed to the Hindu epics of the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas from an early age and enjoyed listening to the recital of the Bhagavatars and watching traditional Kathakali dance, an exposure that was seen to have greatly influenced the mind set of the young artist.
At the mere age of fourteen, Varma’s tanjore inspired designs impressed the then ruler of Travancore, Maharaja Ayilam Tirunal, who invited Ravi Varma to live in Travancore and subsequently became one of his greatest patrons. It was here that Ravi Varma was first introduced to Western painting and became excited and inspired by the natural representation of figures and landscapes as depicted by European artists. Ravi Varma soon mastered the skill of natural representation himself, and working with oils, began to paint mythological figures. It was Maharaja Ayilam Tirunal who encouraged Ravi Varma to a paint portrait of himself and the Maharani, and so impressed was he with the outcome that he bestowed the great honour of the Vira Shringhala upon Ravi Varma. It was from this point on that Ravi Varma began to paint portraits of beautiful women, draped in sensual saris and adorned with the finest jewellery. Though he strangely showed a preference for the way Maharashtrian women draped their saris, the faces and forms of his women adhered strictly to Malyali sensibilities. With a strong mythological theme ingrained in each of his works, Ravi Varma’s paintings were appreciated across India by both the rich and the poor and the artist quickly became a celebrity, painting portraits of Maharajas and royal families from all over India.
Ravi Varma’s Puranic themes were so sought after that he decided to produce high quality prints to make his work more accessible to the masses. To do this, Ravi Varma invested in a printing press imported from Germany, and along with German technicians to run it, set up the first Lithographic press in India, creating oleographs of many of his works in high quality.
Today Raja Ravi Varma’s original paintings reside in the collection of Museums, Palaces and various private collections. His oleographs remain a treasure, adorning the walls of many Indian homes. Indian art will forever be indebted to this artist, a pioneer and a Prince amongst Painters, the great Raja Ravi Varma. |
 |
