Raja
Ravi Varma
Raja Ravi Varma (Malayalam: രാജാ രവി വര്മ്മ) (April
29, 1848 – October 2, 1906) was an Indian artist from the princely state of Travancore (presently in Kerala) who achieved recognition for his
depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata andRamayana. 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 sari-clad women portrayed
as shapely and graceful. Varma's paintings became an important motif of the
time, reproductions being found in almost every middle-class home 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
The studio
used by Raja Ravi Ram Varma during his stay at the Laxmi Vilas Palace
Raja Ravi Varma was born as Ravi Varma
Koil Thampuran of Kilimanoor
palace, in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore (Thiruvithankur) in
Kerala. His father Ezhumavail Neelakanthan Bhattatiripad was an accomplished
scholar, and his mother Umayamba Thampuratti (died 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 (born 1854), C. Raja Raja Varma (born 1860) and
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.[3] He learned the basics
of drawing in Madurai Chithirakara veddhi(Artist's street). 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 at Kilimanoor was named after him. There are many
cultural organizations throughout Kerala in his name. His palace is nearly 6
kilometers from Ponganadu, 7.7 kilometers from Pazhayachanda and 36 km
from Trivandrum, the
capital of Kerala.
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 Exposition held in
Chicago in 1893 and he was awarded two gold medals.[4]He
travelled throughout India in search of
subjects. He often modelled 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 Nalaand 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. His many fabulous paintings are available at Laxmi Vilas Palace of Vadodara.
The
Maharashtrian Lady
"Galaxy
of Musicians", Indian women dressed in regional attire playing a variety
of musical instruments popular in different parts of the country.
The
demi-god vulture Jatayu is struck down by the demon Ravana, as
Jatayu attempted to intercede in the demon's kidnapping of Sita.
Honours
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, raising
objections from Maharaja Moolam
Thirunal of Travancoreand
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.[3]
In 1993, art critic Rupika Chawla and artist A. Ramachandran jointly curated a
large exhibition of Raja Ravi Varma's works at theNational
Museum, New Delhi. Considering his vast contribution to Indian art, the
Government of Kerala has instituted an award calledRaja Ravi Varma Puraskaram, which is
awarded every year to people who show excellence in the field of art and
culture. Awardees include:
The renewed interest in Raja Ravi
Varma has spilled into the area of popular culture as films and music videos
have started using his images.
A college dedicated to fine arts was also constituted
in his honour at Mavelikara, Kerala. Raja Ravi Varma High School at
Kilimanoor was named after him. There are many cultural organizations
throughout Kerala in his name.
Personal life
There Comes
Papa:
Raja Ravi Varma paints his daughter Mahaprabha Thampuratti of Mavelikara with
her daughter and the future Queen Sethu Lakshmi Bayi.
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 three
daughters.
Their elder son, Kerala Varma, born in
1876 went missing in 1912 and was never heard of again. Their second son was
Rama Varma (born 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 eldest daughter,
Ayilyam Nal Mahaprabha Thampuran, appears in two of his prominent paintings and
was mother of Maharani Pooradam thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayiof Travancore. He had
another daughter, Thiruvadira Nal Kochukunji Thampuran, grandmother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Maharajah. His third daughter, born in
1882, was Ayilyam Nal Cheria Kochamma Thampuran.
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 MaharajaUthradom 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,[5] classical musician Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma and others.
List of major works
The following is a list of the
prominent works of Ravi Varma.
·
Village Belle
·
Lady Lost in Thought
·
The Orchestra
·
The heartbroken
·
A Family of Beggars
·
Lady Giving Alms at the Temple
·
Romancing Couple
·
Girl in Sage Kanwa's Hermitage (Rishi-Kanya)
Rama Conquers Varuna
Lady Giving Alms at
the Temple
Shantanu and
Matsyagandha
Arjuna and Subhadra
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An artist who is credited with
bringing about a momentous turn in the art of India, Raja Ravi Varma
inexorably influenced future generations of artists from different streams.
He was the first artist to cast the Indian Gods and mythological characters
in natural earthy surroundings using a European realism; a depiction adopted
not only by the Indian “calendar-art”- spawning ubiquitous images of Gods and
Goddesses, but also by literature and later by the Indian film industry-
affecting their dress and form even today. His dazzling oil paintings of
India’s ancient glory delighted turn-of-the-century India and his mass
reproductions through oleography reached out to the Indian populace in an
unprecedented scale.
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Born on April 29, 1848, in
Kilimanoor, a small hamlet in the southern state of Kerala, Ravi Varma
belonged to a family of scholars, poets and artists. Noted in his family
were, among others, Vidwan Koil Tampuran, author of the famous Kathakali work
Ravana Vijayam, Raja Raja Varma, who painted after the Tanjore style, and Uma
Amba Bai Tampuratty, who, composed Parvati Swayamvaram, a work for the Tullal
dance. As only a small boy, he filled the walls of his home with pictures of
animals, acts and scenes from his daily life, which though irked the
domestics, were noted by his uncle, Raja Raja Varma as the signs of a
blossoming genius.
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The uncle, himself a Tanjore
artist, not only gave the first drawing lessons to Ravi Varma, but also took
a keen interest in his further training and education with the help of the
ruling king, Ayilyam Thirunal. When a young boy of 14, Ravi Varma was sent to
Thiruvananthapuram where he stayed at the Moodath Madam house of the
Kilimanoor Palace and was taught water painting by the palace painter Rama
Swamy Naidu. Here Varma’s talent was nurtured by the personal interest of
Ayilyam Thirunal who exposed him to the famous paintings of Italian painters.
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Ravi Varma had been using the
indigenous paints made from leaves, flowers, tree bark and soil which his
uncle Raja Raja Varma prepared for him. His first set of oil paints was
brought from Madras after noticing a newspaper advertisement. Excited and
nervous, he handled the paints he had waited for a long time.
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Varma’s next dilemma was
learning to paint. This dilemma may seem incongruous more than a century
after he started to paint, but the medium was very new and the technique
equally elusive in those days. Only one person in Travancore knew the
technique of oil painting - Ramaswamy Naicker of Madura, who, recognizing a
potential rival in Varma, refused to teach him the know-how. Naicker's
student, Arumugham Pillai would actually sneak into Moodath Madam at
nightfall to share his knowledge with Varma, against his teacher’s wishes.
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This clandestine education was
only supplemented by watching a visiting Dutch portrait artist who painted
the portraits of Ayilyam Thirunal and his wife. Through trial, error and hard
work, Ravi Varma worked with the pliable medium, learning to blend, smooth
and maneuver the flexibility that was afforded by this slow drying substance.
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When Varma himself painted
the portraits of this royal couple, this self-taught artist’s blazing talent
far outshone the Dutchman! Ravi Varma’s creativity was further tampered by
listening to the music of veterans, watching Kathakali, going through the
manuscripts preserved in ancient families and listening to the artistic
interpretations of the epics. Ravi Varma’s fame as a portrait artist soared
with several important portrait commissions from the Indian aristocracy and
British officials between 1870 and 1878, and the sensitivity and immense
competence this artist still remains unsurpassed.
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His clever portrayal would add
elegance to the personality of the protagonist, like unmasking the fragrance
of a flower. The small town of Kilimanoor was compelled to open a post
office, as letters with requests for paintings arrived from every where. The recognition
that Ravi Varma received in major exhibitions abroad was for the
portrait-based renditions, which were meticulous compositions of people,
their demeanor and attires.
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These
works finely blended the elements of the early Tanjore custom of painting
Nayikas (the feminine emotions being the central theme) and the graceful
realism of European masters. In 1873 he won the First Prize at the Madras
Painting Exhibition and he became a world famous Indian painter after winning
in 1873 Vienna Exhibition. Though not really qualified for the title of a
Raja, when an imperial citation happened to come across in the name of Raja
Ravi Varma, the name stuck and stayed.
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Besides portraits, and
portrait-based compositions, Varma now embarked on honing an oeuvre for
theatrical compositions based on Indian myths and legends. " Nala
Damayanti", " Shantanu and Matsyagandha", " Shantanu and
Ganga", "Radha and Madhava", " Kamsa Maya",
"Shrikrishna and Devaki", " Arjuna and Subhadra", "
Draupadi Vastraharan", " Harischandra and Taramati",
"Vishwamitra and Menaka", " Seetaswayamvaram", "
Young Bharat and a Lion Cub", " The Birth of Sri Krishna", '
Keechaka and Sairanthri' took new forms under his skillful brush.
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With oil paints applied thickly,
Ravi Varma created lustrous, impasted jewellery, brocaded textures, and
subtle shades of complexions. Though several folk and traditional art forms
of India since time immemorial subsisted as illustrations for religious
narratives, yet, illusionist paintings as a medium for story telling was Ravi
Varma’s invention. He cleverly picked the particularly touching stories and
moments from the Sanskrit classics. Though often considered as lacking in
overall congruity, by the sheer mastery of painting beautiful areas and expressions,
his compositions would enchant the beholder no end.
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Ravi Varma was convinced that mass
reproduction of his paintings would initiate millions of Indians to real Art,
and in 1894 he set up an oleography press called the Ravi Varma Pictures
Depot. For photo-litho transfers, the Pictures Depot relied on Phalke's
Engraving & Printing whose proprietor, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, became
famous as dadasaheb of Indian Cinema a few years later.
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In 1894 and 1888, Ravi Varma and
his younger brother C.Raja Raja Varma took a tour around India, in search of
images and landscapes for inspiration. On his return from the second tour,
Ravi Varma painted a batch of pictures especially for reproduction at his new
press, the Picture Depot. The aristocratic orientalism in his imagery was now
replaced by a little more folkish, more iconic and more marketable forms, and
also seen was a crises of gender identity of contemporaneous European forms.
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The Calendar-Art thus
brought-forth by Ravi Varma has been the origin of lakhs of gaudy
god-pictures by ultramodern litho presses for decades. Raja Ravi Varma
died of diabetes on October 2, 1906, in his Kilimanoor Palace home
overflowing with friends, relatives, dignitaries and the media. Yet, the rich
heritage of the fragrance of his paintings continues to charm and influence
the art of India.
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One look at
this striking painting of Jatayu Vadha by Raja Ravi Varma and you want to take
it home. But only a small percentage of antique paintings available in the
market may be authentic. If you are an art lover and are too impressed to buy a
painting, make sure you have it verified by a trained eye.
A
Chennai-based conservation firm that was approached by Bid and Hammer
Auctioneers Private Limited, Bangalore to check the genuineness of Jatayu Vadha
or Ravana carrying Sita, talks about how the valuation is derived. The
certificate of authentication is important for an auction house to sell the
work as well as to fetch it its worth. “As another conservation firm had
dismissed the work to be not original on the grounds that the signature was
forged and varnish is insoluble, my work started with verifying the
authenticity of the two,” says V. Jeyaraj, Director, Hepzibah Institute of
Heritage Conservation, and former curator of the Government Museum, Egmore, who
carried out the valuation.
Raja Ravi
Varma is said to have signed his paintings in three types of signature — R.V.,
Ravi Varma and Ravi Varma with the ‘V' underlined. Through microscopic
examination the strokes, style and signature were examined. “In this case the
signature was of the third type and the colour dark brown,” Mr. Jeyaraj
explains about the application of analytical chemistry in the entire valuation
process.
The analysis
of pigment was done through both by instrumental and micro analysis, where
green, red, yellow, black and white colours were verified.
The type of
ground is another crucial stage to be determined. Equally important is to if
the canvas is cotton or linen. A majority of canvas of Raja Ravi Varma was
manufactured by Vincent Newton and in this case there was no seal but the age
is confirmed by the browning of the canvas due to age. “Linen or cotton as base
gets affected with the environmental changes. Here zinc oxide was added to
linseed oil to give the primer on the canvas,” says the former curator, adding
that it took him 10 days to arrive at a conclusion.
Another
interesting observation was to learn the type of stretcher frame used by Ravi
Varma. The original stretcher frame was not present when it was given to the
auction house but the marks were visible to arrive at a conclusion that the oil
painting was mounted with an external frame and new varnish had been applied
keeping the outer frame. The stretcher frame was of mortise and tenon (type of
a stretcher which can be stretched or compressed in size). The date of the
painting is yet another authentication. The provenance also gives a clue to the
authenticity.
If you
thought the verification process is all over; you are wrong. Most auction
houses have a team of experts comprising art historian, conservator, painter
and scientist to study the process again.
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