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Raja Ravi Varma

April 4, 2026

Recently, Raja Ravi Varma’s Yashoda and Krishna painting was sold for ₹167.2 crore at Saffronart.

About Raja Ravi Varma:

  • He was born on 29 April 1848, in the village of Kilimanoor in Kerala to a family of chieftains known as the Koil Thampurans.
  • Ravi Varma was an Indian painter celebrated for blending Hindu mythological themes with European realism and naturalism.
  • He was among the first Indian artists to use oil paints and master lithographic reproduction.
  • Themes: Varma painted scenes from Hindu mythology and portraits of Indian and British figures in India.
  • Notable Works: His notable works include Shakuntala Writing a Love Letter to Dushyanta and Shri Rama Vanquishing the Sea.
  • He is also known for having mastered the reproduction of his work on the lithographic press– through which his paintings spread far and wide.
  • He set up his own printing press in Maharashtra — first in Ghatkopar and eventually in Lonavala in 1894.
  • Awards:
    • In 1904, he received the Kaiser-i-Hind medal and was popularly known as Raja Ravi Varma.
    • His 1873 painting, Nair Lady Adorning Her Hair, won Varma prestigious awards including Governor’s Gold Medal when it was presented in the Madras Presidency, and Certificate of Merit at an exhibition in Vienna.

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