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On his 176th birthday, the first true copy of Raja Ravi Varma’s painting Indulekha was unveiled at Kilimanoor Palace in Kerala, his birthplace.
About Raja Ravi Varma:
- The title Raja was conferred as a personal title by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India Lord Curzon.
- He was a painter and an artist.
- He was among the first Indian artists to use oil paints.
- Considered the father of modern Indian art, as he combined Indian iconography (the use of images and symbols to represent ideas) with Western realism.
- His works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European and Indian art.
- Notable for making lithographs of his paintings which greatly enhanced his reach and influence as a painter and public figure.
- Lithography is a printing process in which a design is drawn onto a flat stone and fixed by means of a chemical reaction.
- His lithographs increased the involvement of common people with fine arts.
- His religious depictions of Hindu deities and works from Indian epic poetry and Puranas have received profound acclaim.
- Major Paintings: Mohini playing with a ball, Damayanti Talking to a Swan, Shakuntala, Lord Krishna as Ambassador, Lord Rama Conquers Varuna, Shantanu and Matsyagandha.
Indulekha Painting: It depicts Indulekha, the protagonist of the first modern Malayalam novel (Indulekha) by O. Chandu Menon, published in 1889. |
