Raja Ravi Varma

Raja Ravi Varma (April 29, 1848 - October 2, 1906 - 58 Years ) was an Indian painter from the princely state of Travancore who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art.





Varma is most remembered for his paintings of beautiful sari-clad women, who were portrayed as shapely and graceful. His exposure in the west came when he won the first prize in the Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873. Raja Ravi Varma died in 1906 at the age of 58. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

Raja Ravi Varma was born as Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran of Kilimanoor palace in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore(thiruvithankur) in Kerala. His father Ezhumavail Neelakanthan Bhattatiripad was an accomplished scholar, and his mother Umayamba Thampuratti (d.1886) was a poet and writer whose work Parvati Swayamvaram would be published by Raja Ravi Varma after her death. His siblings were C. Goda Varma (b.1854), C. Raja Raja Varma (b.1860) and Mangala Bayi Thampuratti, who was also a painter. At a young age he secured the patronage of HH Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore,( a relative, and began formal training thereafter. He was trained in water painting by Rama Swami Naidu, and later in oil painting by Dutch portraitist Theodor Jenson. Raja Ravi Varma High school for Boys & Girls are situated at Kilimanoor in memory of Him. There are lot of other cultural organizations throughout Kerala with His name.