Portal:India/Today's selected article/March 21, 2006



Raja Ravi Varma was an Indian painter who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. He was born in the royal palace of Kilimanoor, which is situated 25 miles from Trivandrum. He got the patronage of Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja of Travancore when he was 14 years of age. The power and forceful expression of European painting fascinated Ravi Varma, which came across to him as strikingly contrasting to stylized Indian artwork. He came to widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873. 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 of (Dushyanta 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 was criticized for being too showy and sentimental in his style. However his work remains very popular in India. (more...)