Raja Ravi Varma (Paintings of Raja Ravivarma)
Raja Ravi Varma (Malayalam: രാജാ രവി വര്മ) (April 29, 1848 - October 2, 1906) was an Indian painter from the princely state of Travancore who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art.
Varma is most remembered for his paintings of beautiful sari-clad women, who were portrayed as shapely and graceful. His exposure in the west came when he won the first prize in the Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873. Raja Ravi Varma died in 1906 at the age of 58. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.
Early life
Raja Ravi Varma was born at Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran of Kilimanoor palace in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in Kerala. His father Ezhumavail Neelakanthan Bhattatiripad was an accomplished scholar, and his mother Umayamba Thampuratti (d.1886) was a poet and writer whose work Parvati Swayamvaram would be published by Raja Ravi Varma after her death. His siblings were C. Goda Varma (b.1854), C. Raja Raja Varma (b.1860) and Mangala Bayi Thampuratti, who was also a painter. At a young age he secured the patronage of HH Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore, a relative, and began formal training thereafter.
Art career
Raja Ravi Varma received widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873. He travelled throughout India in search of subjects. He often modeled Hindu Goddesses onSouth Indian women, whom he considered beautiful. Ravi Varma is particularly noted for his paintings depicting episodes from the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, and Nala and Damayanti, from the Mahabharata. Ravi Varma's representation of mythological characters has become a part of the Indian imagination of the epics. He is often criticized for being too showy and sentimental in his style. However his work remains very popular in India.
Personal life
His descendants comprise the Mavelikara Royal house while two of his granddaughters, including the said Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, were adopted to the Travancore Royal Family, the cousin family of the Mavelikara House, to which lineage the late Travancore Maharajah Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma belongs. Well known among his descendants are writer Shreekumar Varma (Prince Punardam Thirunal), artists Rukmini Varma (Princess Bharani Thirunal) and Jay Varma, classical musician Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma and others.Raja Ravi Varma was married to Pururuttathi Nal Bhageerathi Amma Thampuran (Kochu Pangi) of the Royal House of Mavelikara and they had two sons and three daughters. Their eldest son, Kerala Varma, born in 1876 went missing in 1912 and was never heard of again. Their second son was Rama Varma (b.1879), an artist who studied at the JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, married to Srimathi Gowri Kunjamma, sister of Dewan PGN Unnithan. Raja Ravi Varma's elder daughter, Ayilyam Nal Mahaprabha Thampuran, appears in two of his prominent paintings and was mother of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore. He had another daughter, Thiruvadira Nal Kochukunji Thampuran, grandmother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Maharajah. His third daughter, born in 1882, was Ayilyam Nal Cheria Kochamma Thampuran.
List of major works
The following is a list of the prominent works of Ravi Varma.
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