1870 & Raja Ravi Varma
In the year 1870 Varma left his hometown for the first time to Mookambika on a pilgrimage. On his return, while at Calicut, he received his first commission to paint a portrait of a family. His first professional patron was Kizhakkepat Ramakrishna Menon, a sub-judge of the Mangalore Court. With this legal patronage would commence Raja Ravi Varma’s career which would eventually alter the religious, social and aesthetic notions of the people of the Indian sub-continent and beyond.
The Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation & Commemorating 150 years of the artist’s professional career
2020 marked 150 years since the start of Raja Ravi Varma’s professional career and the Foundation was intent on commemorating this milestone. Having partnered with Google Arts & Culture in 2019, it was deemed the best platform to bring together the paintings, sketches and archival photographs of the works of the artist.
The Foundation reached out to custodians of the artist’s legacy and the commemorative resulted in the largest collaborative collective of the works of the artist. Joining in this effort were the Royal Gaekwad Collection and the Maharaja Fatesingh Museum, Vadodara; the Kaudiar Palace, Thiruvananthapuram; the Kilimanoor Palace Trust, Kilimanoor; the Jatprole Aristrocacy; the Apparao Galleries and Foundation, Chennai; DAG, new Delhi, Mumbai and New York; Pundole’s, Mumbai; Saffronart, Mumbai; OSIANS, Mumbai; Christies, New York, etc. Many individual collectors also allowed images to be showcased on the platform.
Launch of the Commemorative and Articles
Articles written for the Commemorative
1870 & Raja Ravi Varma
Her Highness Radhika Raje Gaekwad of Baroda explores the many dimensions of Raja Ravi Varma’s first painting to enter the Gaekwad collection, “Sita Bhumi Pravesh.”
The Emotive Raja
Dr. Swarnamalya Ganesh explores Raja Ravi Varma’s contemporary interpretations of the classical ashta-nayikas in this article.
Commemorating 150 years
Ganesh Shivaswamy explores 150 years of Raja Ravi Varma’s resonant legacy through 15 iconic paintings.
The Life of Raja Ravi Varma: 1848-1885
The first segment of a three part biography of the artist written by Her Highness Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the Princess of Travancore and great grand-daughter of the artist.
The Life of Raja Ravi Varma: 1885-1894
The second segment of a three part biography of the artist written by Her Highness Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the Princess of Travancore and great grand-daughter of the artist.
The Life of Raja Ravi Varma: 1894-1906
The third segment of a three part biography of the artist written by Her Highness Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the Princess of Travancore and great grand-daughter of the artist.