Raja Ravi Varma

The royal family has urged the union government to confer the “Bharat Ratna” on Raja Ravi Varma.

Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian painter and artist considered one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

Varma was born into aristocracy at Kilimanoor in the erstwhile Travancore state of present-day Kerala and was closely related to its royal family.
At 14, Varma was patronised by Ayilyam Thirunal, the then ruler of Travancore, and received training in water colours from Ramaswamy Naidu, the royal painter.
Later, Varma studied oil painting with the British painter Theodore Jensen.
Apart from Travancore, Varma also worked for other wealthy patrons, such as the Gaekwad of Baroda.

Varma worked on portrait and landscape paintings and is considered among the first Indian artists to use oil paints.
He is also one of the few painters who accomplished a beautiful union of Indian tradition with the techniques of European academic art.
He continues to be regarded as India’s most important representative of the Europeanised school of painting.
His works revolve mainly around the Puranas (ancient mythological stories) and the great Indian epics – Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Besides painting Hindu mythological figures, Varma also made portraits of many Indians and Europeans.

Varma is also known for having mastered the reproduction of his work on the lithographic press– through which his paintings spread far and wide.
He painted the picture of God and Goddess that helped Dalits, who were prohibited from entering temples to know about the Gods.

A Family of Beggars – This painting represented the sorry state of Indian economics.
Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair – Painting portrays a Malayali woman in all her glory.
Lady with Fruit – was one of Varma’s personal favourites.
Girl in Sage Kanwa’s Hermitage (Rishi-Kanya) – Story talks about the story of Shakuntala.
Arjuna and Subhadra – This painting narrates a story from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

1873: Painting, Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, won Varma prestigious awards including Governor’s Gold Medal when it was presented in the Madras Presidency, and Certificate of Merit at an exhibition in Vienna.
1893: He bagged three gold medals for his work at the prestigious World’s Columbian Exposition
1904: British colonial government awarded Varma with the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal.
2013: Crater on the planet Mercury was named in his honour.
The Government of Kerala has instituted an award in his name. Known as the ‘Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram’.
The award is given to individuals who show considerable promise in the field of art and culture.

Content Source: Indian Express.