Raja Ravi Varma (19th century AD) was a talented artist, and he is considered as one of the popular artists still now by everyone. His works are highly praised by the learned scholars, by the common public, and also by the ordinary layman, for its beauty.His paintings were appeared like real, and his Krishna paintings were very much praised by the people, since he has brought the original vision of Lord Child Krishna before our eyes.
Raja Ravi Varma was born in Travancore to a pious family and the personal title Raja was added before his name, and Raja Ravi Varma moved very closely with the Travancore royal family.
Ravi Varma’s father was a great Sanskrit scholar, while his mother was a famous poet and writer and some of her works were published by Ravi Varma. At his teenage, Ravi Varma married with a pious girl who belongs to the Travancore kingdom, and they had five children, and one of his sons had become a talented artist similar to him, and shined well in his chosen field.
Varma received good name and fame after his paintings were displayed in an exhibition in a foreign country in the year 1873. He travelled throughout India in order to spread the importance of his beautiful art amongst the masses. He highly respected females, and he mostly used to draw pictures of Hindu goddesses like Shakti, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Ravi Varma’s works are still popular in India, and his paintings were bought even by the foreigners, and we can find some of his paintings displayed in the households of some of the foreigners.
Ravi Varma also drew pictures of the characters present in Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavatham.
As an honour to the great artist, India Post had issued postal stamp by depicting his image on that.
Ravi Varma is considered as the father of drawing and painting, and some of his popular art works are as follows:-
1. Mohini Avatar
2. Ma Yashoda and Lord Krishna
3. Ma Damayanti
4. Arjuna and Subhadra
5. Shakuntala
6. Jatayu
7. Shantanu and Matsyagandha
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR