Raja Ravi Varma After Receiving The Kaiser-i-Hind Award, 1904 Photo
A rare 1904 photo postcard of Raja Ravi Varma after he received the Kaiser-i-Hind award. This photo was taken after the artist received the Kaiser-i-Hind medal that was awarded to him in 1904. The medal can be seen pinned to his chest. The award had, until then, been reserved solely for persons in trade and industry.
By then, Raja Ravi Varma was a household name in India. His flowing signature constituted a trademark recognized all over the country. He had an unconventional method of integrating European style with that of the Indian painting style, which had an almost life-like effect on his paintings. However, not everyone could afford his oil paintings, except for the wealthy few.
On the advice of his good friend T. Madhava Rao, (Diwan of Travancore), he opened a printing press. The Ravi Varma Fine Arts Lithographic Press (FAL Press) opened in 1894 in Bombay. The press with its German master printers and German steam-driven lithographic press was able produce millions and millions of copies of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings during its existence. Please see “Birth Of Shakuntala” the press’s first oleograph published in 1894, which also is in our collection.
Also read- A family affair: Few know about the artistic prowess of Raja Ravi Varma’s siblings.
Did You Know – he loved elephants and had one time pacified a rogue elephant in his hometown Kilimanoor, Kerala.
More from the collection- Vintage Postcard Bombay The Improvement Trust Office., Vintage Book 1967 – Kerala A Portrait Of The Malabar Coast.
