Raja Ravi Varma
Raja Ravi Varma was a Malayali Indian artist who lived from 1848 to 1906. Varma is credited with bridging the style between traditional Indian art and European academic art, and today, is regarded as a realism academic artist. He is known for painting both scenes from Indian mythology as well as portraits of beautiful women. Varma is considered by many to be the greatest Indian artist of all time and his work is still very popular today. The title ‘Raja’ was given to him in honor of his artistic accomplishments.
Varma was born into an aristocratic family. His artistic talents were noticed when he was just seven years old. In legend, he was caught by his uncle, Raja Raja Varma (who was also an artist) drawing pictures on a wall in his home. Most of his family did not support his artistic inclinations, but his uncle gave him his first art lesson and got him into a more formal education. Varma was actually from a very artistic family. Besides his uncle, Raja Raja Varma, other family members who were also artists include his brother, C. Raja Raja Varma, his sister, Mangala Bayi Thampuratti, and his son, Rama Varma Raja
Varma was formally trained in both Indian and Western European art styles. He learned how to use watercolors in the traditional Indian art style under Rama Swami Naidu. He then learned how to paint with oils in the Western European academic art style under the Dutch artist, Theodore Jensen, who was visiting the Indian court at the time.
Raja Ravi Varma received critical acclaim after winning first place in the Vienna Art Exhibition of 1873. He traveled around India with his younger brother looking for inspiration for his art. He mostly used models from Southern India for his work, where he also originated. He mostly depicted scenes from Hindu mythology and epic stories. Varma won additional medals in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, bringing his art into the western hemisphere.
Varma was innovative and in 1894, began his own printing press company to create inexpensive lithographic copies of his work. This allowed his art to be spread throughout more common households, making his art known to a huge amount of people and greatly increasing his popularity. Additionally, his Indian-centric subjects were favored at a time when India’s nationalistic sentiments were coming to the forefront and the people were looking to be free from British rule. He became India’s patron artist, bringing their own stories to life in a way that had not been done before. He worked up until his death. His last painting was “Kadambari”, made earlier that year. Raja Ravi Varma died in 1906 at 58 years old.
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