Raja Ravi Varma

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Raja Ravi Varma

Born April 29,1848 (1848-04-29)
Kilimanoor, Travancore
Died October 2,1906 (1906-10-03) (aged 58)
Kilimanoor, Travancore,
British India
Occupation Painter

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 very 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 generally considered as one among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Umayamba Thampuratti, Ravi Varma's mother

Raja Ravi Varma was born at Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran of Kilimanoor palace in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. His father Ezhumavail Neelakanthan Bhattatiripad was a great scholar and mother Umayamba Thampuratti (d.1886) was a poet and writer whose work Parvati Swayamvaram was published by Raja Ravi Varma after her death. His siblings were C. Goda Varma (b.1854), C. Raja Raja Varma (b.1860) and a sister 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 [1].

[edit] Art career

Raja Ravi Varma came to widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873[2] . He travelled throughout India in search of subjects. He often modeled Hindu Goddesses on South 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.

[edit] Philosophical outlook

Raja Ravi Varma's philosophical outlook is not known or documented, especially his . [3]

[edit] Title of Raja

The Lady in the picture is Mahaprabha Thampuratti of Mavelikara, the artist's daughter and mother of HH Sethu Lakshmi Bayi

In 1904 Viceroy Lord Curzon, on behalf of the King Emperor bestowed upon Raja Ravi Varma the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal. At this time his name was mentioned as "Raja Ravi Varma" for the first time, raising objections from Maharajah Moolam Thirunal of Travancore. Ravi Varma however defended the title stating that his ancestors had been the Rajahs of Beypore in Malabar and besides, as per the Marumakkathayam tradition, the name of the maternal uncle (Raja Raja Varma) was prefixed to the name. Thereafter he was always referred to as Raja Ravi Varma [4].

In 1993, art critic/conservator Rupika Chawla and artist A Ramachandran jointly curated a large exhibition of Ravi Varma's works at the National Museum, New Delhi. Considering his vast contribution to Indian art, the Government of Kerala has instituted an award called Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram, which is awarded every year to people who show excellence in the field of art and culture. Awardees include:

  • K.G. Subramanian (2001)
  • M.V. Devan (2002)
  • A Ramachandran (2003)
  • Vasudevan Namboodiri (2004).
  • Kanai Kunhiraman (2005)
  • V.S. Valliathan[2006]

A college dedicated to fine arts was also constituted in his honour at Mavelikara, Kerala. The renewed interest in Ravi Varma has spilled into the area of popular culture as films and music videos have started using his images. Propaghandi, a popular Canadian band, has cited him as a major influence to their work. The lead singer of Propaghandi claims to have had sudden inspiration for the song "Gifts" while looking at Lady Giving Alms at the Temple.

[edit] Personal life

HH Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, Maharani of Travancore,granddaughter of Raja Ravi Varma

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 two daughters. Their eldest son, Prince Kerala Varma, born in 1876 went missing in 1912 and was never heard from again. Their second son was Prince 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 Thampuratti, appears in two of his prominent paintings and was mother of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore. He had another daughter, Thiruvadira Nal Kochukunji Thampuratti, grandmother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Maharajah.

Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta.

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 present 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.

[edit] List of major works

The following is a list of the prominent works of Ravi Varma.

  • Village Belle
  • Lady Lost in Thought
  • Damayanti Talking to a Swan
  • The Orchestra
  • Arjuna and Subhadra
  • Lady with lemon
  • The Heartbroken
  • Swarbat Player
  • Shakuntala
  • Lord Krishna as Ambassador
  • Jatayu, a bird devotee of Lord Rama is mauled by Rawana
  • Victory of Indrajit
  • A Family of Beggars
  • A Lady Playing Swarbat
  • Lady Giving Alms at the Temple
  • Lord Rama Conquers Varuna
  • Nair Woman
  • Romancing Couple
  • Draupadi Dreading to Meet Kichaka
  • Shantanu and Matsyagandha
  • Shakuntala Composing a Love Letter to King Dushyanta
  • Girl in Sage Kanwa's Hermitage (Rishi-Kanya)

Asthasiddi

Lakshmi

Murugan

Saraswati

Bhishma Pledge

Yashoda decorating Krishna

Radha Madhavam

Arjuna and Subhadra

Gangavataranam

Ravi Varma's Shakuntala, a character in the epic Mahabharata

Shakuntala despondent

Draupadi carrying milk honey

Draupadi Humiliation

Simhaka Sairandari

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] In English

  • Ravi Varma Classics -2008, Pub:Genesis Art Foundation, Cochin-18;45 clour plate with text by Vijayakumar Menon.
  • Raja Ravi Varma - The Most Celebrated Painter of India: 1848-1906, Parsram Mangharam, Bangalore, 2007
  • Raja Ravi Varma - The Painter Prince: 1848-1906, Parsram Mangharam, Bangalore, 2003
  • Raja Ravi Varma and the Printed Gods of India, Erwin Neumayer & Christine Schelberger, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2003
  • Raja Ravi Varma : The Most Celebrated Painter of India : 1848 - 1906, Classic Collection, Vol I & II. Bangalore, Parsram Mangharam, 2005
  • Raja Ravi Varma : Portrait of an Artist , The Diary of C. Raja Raja Varma/edited by Erwin Neumayer and Christine Schelberger. New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2005
  • Divine Lithography, Enrico Castelli and Giovanni Aprile, New Delhi, Il Tamburo Parlante Documentation Centre and Ethnographic Museum, 2005
  • Photos of the Gods : The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India by Christopher Pinney. London, Reaktion Book, 2004

[edit] In Malayalam

  • Ravi Varma - A critical study by Vijayakumar Menon, Pub: Kerala Laitha Kala Akademy, Trissur, 2002
  • Raja Ravi Varmayum chitrkalayum, Kilimanoor Chandran, Department of Cultural Publications, Kerala Government, 1999.
  • Chithramezhuthu Koyithampuran, P.N Narayana Pillai.
  • Raja Ravi Varma, N. Balakrishnan Nair.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Raja Ravi Varma's Paintings Complete collection of oil paintings by Ravi Varma (Incorrectly attributes Glow of hope to Ravi Varma)


[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ "The Diary of C. Rajaraja Varma"
  2. ^ Kilimanoor Chandran, Ravi Varmayum Chitrakalayum(in Malayalam), Department of Culture, Kerala, 1998
  3. ^ "Raja Ravi Varma: Portrait of an Artist". May 05, 2006 Oxford University Press.
  4. ^ "The Diary of C. Rajaraja Varma"
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