Who was Raja Ravi Varma?

About Raja Ravi Varma:

• He was an Indian painter and artist.
• He is considered one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.
• He was born as Ravi VarmaKoil Thampuran of Kilimanoor palace, in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore (Thiruvithankur) in Kerala. 
• He is known for his amazing paintings, which revolve mainly around the Puranas (ancient mythological stories) and the great Indian epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
• In addition to incidents in Hindu mythology, Varma painted many portraits of both Indians and British in India.
• He is believed to have made around 7,000 paintings before his death at the age of 58.
• His most famous works include Damayanti Talking to a Swan, Shakuntala Looking for Dushyanta, Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, and Shantanu and Matsyagandha. 
• Features of his work:
  • Before Raja Rai Varma’s paintings, the paintings of Indian artists were greatly influenced by the Persian and Mughal schools.
  • Varma was the first Indian to use Western techniques of perspective and composition and to adapt them to Indian subjects, styles, and themes.
  • His works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European academic artwith a purely Indian sensibility and iconography. 
  • He was one of the first Indian artists to use oil paints and to master the art of lithographic reproduction of his work.
  • He was notable for making affordable lithographs of his paintings available to the public, which greatly enhanced his reach and influence as a painter and public figure. 
  • His paintings often depicted mythological characters and Indian royalty in a realistic style, challenging traditional artistic norms.
• Recognitions:
  • He received widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873.
  • His paintings were also sent to the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, and he was awarded two gold medals.
  • In 1904, Viceroy Lord Curzon, on behalf of the King Emperor, bestowed upon Raja Ravi Varma the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal. At this time, his name was mentioned as “Raja Ravi Varma” for the first time.

Q1: What is lithography?

A lithograph is a piece of art that involves drawing an image onto a plate. These plates can be made from several materials, but the most common is a piece of limestone or metal. Depending on the method used, original lithograph art is created by treating the hand-drawn image with a special solution. The image is then transferred to paper and can be used and reused multiple times.

Source: First true copy of Ravi Varma’s Indulekha to be unveiled on Monday