colours of passion

April 10, 2010 10:02 AM

Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), considered “the greatest painter of India,” “the father of modern Indian art,” and a “prince among painters and a painter among princes.” Varma became renowned both for his portraiture and his paintings of Indian mythology. The painter's life and times played a major role in the shaping of the women he painted and controversy over the way he painted them. Varma's images have not just survived, but due to his vision of making them accessible to the common man, they have thrived over a century and influence movies, television, the world's most expensive sari, theatre and everyday calender art.
posted by infini (7 comments total)

Thanks for sharing.
posted by VickyR at 11:16 AM on April 10, 2010

Thanks for this, infini.
posted by VikingSword at 12:31 PM on April 10, 2010

Thanks for the wealth of links, infini. I'm trying to find the name of the painting shown in your link "shaping of the women," and I'm not having any luck. Is that painting by Raja Ravi Varma, or by one of the other painters mentioned in the article?
posted by LightStruk at 2:15 PM on April 10, 2010

the face in the painting you refer to seems to resemble this one, so perhaps its a derivative work by another artist as mentioned in that article? there's a pretty comprehensive gallery you can browse through in the "prince among painters etc" link
posted by infini at 2:23 PM on April 10, 2010

found it, its called Damayanti
posted by infini at 2:26 PM on April 10, 2010

Thanks again, infini!
posted by LightStruk at 9:09 PM on April 10, 2010

Marvelous post. I had thought for ages to do a post about him. Glad you created a wonderful one.
posted by nickyskye at 9:10 PM on April 10, 2010