Raja Ravi Varma: Painter of Colonial India. Definitive book on Raja Ravi Varma by author Rupika Chawla. It examines his life and times as a painter, the influences on his work, his muses and themes.

1. Raja Ravi Varma
Painter of Colonial i ndia
Rupika Chawla
M apin p ublishin g

2. W
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In the book:
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Raja Ravi Varma
Private Lives and the Turn of
the Century
The Itinerant Varma Brothers Painter of C olonial i ndia
Cities and States
Rupika Chawla
Exploring the Source
Themes and Preoccupations Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906) was among the first Indian painters to
The Image Moves On successfully adapt academic realism to the visual interpretation of
Indian mythology and adopt Western painting techniques of portraiture.
A Century Looks Back
His genre of paintings, which eventually led to chromolithographs
Painting the Canvas (oleographs), has maintained a lasting effect on the Indian sensibility,
making him the best-known classical painter of modern times.
This book is an account of Ravi Varma’s traditional background and
environment in the context of colonial India, and the relationship of
this milieu with his profession as an aristocratic itinerant painter. Many
royal families of India and several rich and powerful personalities were
patrons of Ravi Varma, who painted their portraits in large numbers. His
lingering influence on the Indian mindset is also seen in the works of
Indian contemporary painters and artists, who continue to be inspired
by his art.
This lavishly illustrated book brings together paintings from royal and
private collections and museums, and works that have never been
seen before, along with previously undisclosed maps, letters, photographs
and other archival material. It traces the sources used by him, examines
the techniques and methodology of his paintings, and discusses their
conservation and the problem of fakes and copies.
360 pages, 436 colour illustrations
Rupika Chawla is a conservator of paintings based in Delhi. She has
Hardcover • 9.5 x 11.5” (241 x 292 mm)
Price: Rs 3950
restored several Ravi Varma paintings at her studio in Delhi and she
also gives training in conservation. Together with artist A. Ramachandran
she organized the seminal exhibition on Raja Ravi Varma in 1993 at the
A unique feature of this title is
that it comes to the customer National Museum, Delhi, which brought about a strong revival of the
with a choice of two splendid dust artist and his work.
jackets—one showing the portrait
of Chamarajendra Wadiyar X,
Maharaja of Mysore on the cover;
the other with Damayanti from
Ravi Varma’s famous painting, Mapin Publishing
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