Raja Ravi Varma may well be the only Indian artist to have achieved such instant recall and retained it for a century and a half. Born in 1848 into a family close to the Travancore royals, he was already a household name in Gokhale’s turn-of-the-century childhood. Starting as a portraitist to princes, Varma’s printing press made his work wildly popular in reproduction. His chromolithographs of Hindu deities and his scenes from the epics and myths became calendar art and advertisements. Millions were happy to see them.
On April 29 this year, Ravi Varma’s 172nd birth anniversary, Google Arts and Culture unveiled a massive digital retrospective of his work, with over 700 images and videos. Although many of these were already online, the Google exhibit offers higher resolution images and new kinds of access by grouping work from across museums into thematic ‘stories’, creating a display that caters to a wide range of visitors.
This story is from the July 06, 2020 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the July 06, 2020 edition of India Today.
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