Raja Ravi Varma: Wizard with the painting brush

Born in Kilimanoor, Kerala, on April 29, 1848 to poetess, writer and member of the aristocratic family Umamba Thampuratti and scholar Neelakandan Bhattathiripad, Raja Ravi Varma was among the few artists who blended themes inspired by Indian mythology and tradition with European art techniques. His oleographs and chromolithographs of gods and goddesses became extremely popular and synonymous with calendar art.

Varma’s role in popularising art and making it accessible to the public, especially, to the poorer sections of society has been widely acknowledged. He also painted portraits of Indians and the English in India. His works, which were displayed across the globe, won many awards.

Childhood

Having grown up with three siblings – sister Mangala Bayi and brothers Goda Varma and Raja Raja Varma – Raja Ravi Varma was around seven years old when he revealed signs of artistic talent. He began by drawing subjects he came across daily, like pictures of animals and everyday scenes, on the walls of his home. His uncle realised his true potential and helped him.When Varma was 14, the ruler of Travancore, Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal, who was also his relative, became his patron. From the royal painter Ramaswamy Naidu, he picked up the basics of watercolour painting. After a few years, he trained in oil painting with Dutch portrait painter Theodore Jensen.

Adulthood

He did not allow his creativity or learning to be restricted to the lessons from his instructors like Jensen. Instead, he was influenced by a lot of other things including music of veteran singers, Kathakali dancers, and the artistic interpretations of epics and manuscripts. While Varma was commissioned for a large number portraits during the latter half of 19th century, his career growth registered a faster pace after Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad invited him to Baroda and became his main patron.

He painted portraits of Indian royal families, British officials and foreign dignitaries. The reproductions of his paintings became very popular during his lifetime, and they were found in homes, across the country regardless of their economic status. Raja Ravi Varma’s work documents historical relationships and events, mainly through portraiture.

His paintings which depicted aspects of the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, and Nala and Damayanti are considered classics. Other major works by him include Village Belle, Lady Lost in Thought, The Orchestra, Arjuna and Subhadra, among others.

At the age of 18, he was married to 12-year-old Bhageerathi Bayi who belonged to the royal house of Mavelikkara, that was linked to the kingdom of Travancore.

Awards

In 1873, he won an award in Vienna where his work was exhibited. At the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, he was bestowed with three gold medals. In 1904, Viceroy Lord Curzon awarded him with the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal. Several institutions and cultural organisations have been named after him, such as Raja Ravi Varma High School at Kilimanoor, dedicated to fine arts in Kerala. In 2013, a crater on Mercury was named in his honour.

Interesting Facts

1.After his first lessons in drawing from the ruler Ayilyam Thirunal, Varma went to Thiruvananthapuram aged 14. He was then trained in watercolour by the court painter Ramaswamy Naidu.

2.During those times, only one person, Ramaswamy Naicker of Madurai, had the knowledge of oil painting techniques in Travancore. He refused to teach Varma as he saw him as a potential rival.

3.With the aim of bringing Indians closer to art, he began a lithography printing press named the Ravi Varma Pictures Depot in 1894 for mass production of his paintings. Five years later, he shifted the press from Ghatkopar to Malavli, near Lonavala. Most of the work of the press was managed by his brother Raja Raja Varma. In 1901, the press was sold to a German printing technician.

4.Raja Ravi Varma’s fame had touched such great heights that the small town of Kilimanoor was compelled to open a post office, as requests came flooding in for him from all corners of India.

Sources: thefamouspeople.com , Wikipedia