Raja Ravi Varma

                          

Raja Ravi Varma

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 theMahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of Europeanacademic art.

Varma is most remembered for his paintings of beautifulsari-clad women, who were portrayed as 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 considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

Early life

Raja Ravi Varma was born as Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran ofKilimanoor palace in the erstwhile princely state ofTravancore(thiruvithankur) in Kerala. His father Ezhumavail Neelakanthan Bhattatiripad was an accomplished scholar, and his mother Umayamba Thampuratti (d.1886) was a poet and writer whose work Parvati Swayamvaram would be published by Raja Ravi Varma after her death. His siblings were C. Goda Varma (b.1854), C. Raja Raja Varma (b.1860) and Mangala Bayi Thampuratti, who was also a painter. At a young age he secured the patronage of HH MaharajahAyilyam Thirunal of Travancore,( a relative, and began formal training thereafter.^[1] He was trained in water painting by Rama Swami Naidu, and later in oil painting by Dutch portraitist Theodor Jenson. Raja Ravi Varma High school for Boys & Girls are situated at Kilimanoor in memory of Him. There are lot of other cultural organizations through out Kerala with His name. His palace is nearly 6 Kilometer from Ponganadu and 7.7kilometer from Pazhayachanda.

Art career

Raja Ravi Varma received widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873. Raja Ravi Varma's paintings were also sent to the World's Columbian Expositionheld in Chicago in 1893 and he was awarded two gold medals.^[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 ofDushyanta 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.