RAJA RAVI VARMA

NEWS: Raja Ravi Varma’s painting ‘Yashoda and Krishna’ àbecome the most expensive work of modern Indian art ever sold at auction, fetching a record-shattering ₹167.2 crore

ABOUT

• Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)à Celebrated Indian painter and artist, widely considered the father of modern Indian art.
• Renowned for achieving a unique fusion of European academic techniques with purely Indian sensibilities and subjects.
• Born in 1848 into an aristocratic family in the princely state of Travancore (present-day Kerala).
• Mastered the medium of oil painting+ European realismà unconventional for Indian artists at the time.

Contribution to Indian Art

• He integrated European oil painting techniques (such as perspective and chiaroscuro) with Indian mythological and social themes.
• In 1894à Established a lithographic press to mass-produce his paintings as affordable oleographs.
• Democratization of Artà Brought high-quality art and Hindu iconography into the homes of ordinary Indians for the first time, breaking the monopoly of the elite on sacred imagery.
• Standardizing Deitiesà His depictions of Hindu gods+ goddesses were so influential that they still shape the popular visual consciousness of deities in India today.

Important Paintings

• Yashoda and Krishnaà A tender portrait of maternal love painted in the 1890s, recently sold for a record price.
• Shakuntalaà A famous depiction of the character from the Mahabharata looking back for Dushyanta.
• Saraswati & Lakshmià His iconic representations of the goddesses of knowledge and wealth became the standard for calendar art.
• Nair Lady Adorning Her Hairà Showcasing his skill in portraiture and capturing local Indian life.