![]() ![]() Kilimanoor was famous for producing consorts for the princesses of the matrilineal royal family of Travancore. Ravi Varma was born in Kilimanoor, Kerala, 25 miles from the capital city of Trivandrum, in April 1848, into a family of poets and scholars with royal connections. The pearls, diamonds, the temple jewellery, all were of that era. The furniture, building interiors, utensils, all were available at the time he did his paintings," says Kochi-based artist, Bindhi Rajagopal. "His speciality was realism in its peak – each costume and piece of jewellery looks the same original. His favourite subjects were women in traditional attire, reclining on a bed or lost in thought. It is famously said in India that in his paintings you can almost hear the rustle of silk sarees. His style used textures, light and shadows to help evoke the mood. He allowed Western influences to prevail when and where it suited him, and from which he knew he could derive the maximum advantage."Īs an artist he changed India's vision of gods and goddesses from supernatural imagery to a human style, with an attention to minute details, from fabrics, hair styles and jewellery to artefacts and furniture. Rupika Chawla, art curator and author, in her book Raja Ravi Varma: Painter of Colonial India, writes: "He underwent a process of conscious selection of themes, genre and medium in the paintings he wished to make – the grand historical paintings of gods and heroes, and portraits of the rich and powerful. "The reason we decided on NFTs of his work being auctioned was that we need to be relevant to modern times, and the younger generation, and make them aware of this great Indian artist," says Jay Varma, a descendent of the artist, who co-manages the Raja Ravi Varma Foundation. The auction was held on an online art marketplace RtistiQ in partnership with arts foundation Gallery G and the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation, based in Bengaluru. ![]() His works have been auctioned for large amounts – Varma's Damayanti was auctioned in New York for $1.6 million (around £1.3 million) an 1890 Ravi Varma oil on canvas, titled Radha In The Moonlight was sold for a whopping Rs 200 million (around £2 million) in 2018, a relatively unknown work by Varma titled Tilottama, was auctioned for $795,000 (£667,419), at Sotheby's in New York.Īnd earlier this year some of Varma's works were auctioned as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are digitally created assets. In 1904, Varma was awarded the Kaiser-e-Hind title (a medal for services to the British Raj). One of the most prolific Indian artists, he is said to have made more than 2,000 paintings before he died at the age of 58. His themes revolved around Hindu mythology and religion, with portraits of gods and goddesses, studio-style portraits of aristocrats and maharajahs in courtly attire, along with scenes from everyday life. His art influenced Indian literature, music, films, advertising and textiles, and even India's largest selling comic book series, the Amar Chitra Katha comics. He was the first Indian artist who successfully combined Indian iconography and subjects with Western techniques and styles. Doe-eyed Menaka, the nymph, tempting the sage Vishwamitra Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth, standing majestically on a lotus the god Vishnu riding on his half-bird half-human mount Garuda, a serpent in its talons a woman holding a fruit, her eyes full of innocence – almost everyone in India (especially South India) has a Raja Ravi Varma (RRV) print somewhere in the house, often in the puja room (the room where gods are worshipped in a Hindu home).
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