The corridor walls of the palace were his canvas and charcoal his
brush in early childhood. But once his extraordinary talent was noticed,
prince Ravi Varma (1848 - 1906) of the Kilimanoor Palace was given
formal training in water colour painting and the prince was lucky
in that his art - mostly portraits - was appreciated and recognised
in his lifetime.
The Ravi Varma Press was set up in Bombay in 1894 to churn out copies
of his portraits for an eager clientele. Raja Ravi Varma's noted works
include 'Hamsa Damayanthi', 'Draupathi in the court of Virata', 'Mohini
and Rukmangada', 'Sakuntala' etc, all oil on canvas. Most of the originals
are on display at the Sri Chithra Art Gallery in the Napier Museum
compound in Thiruvananthapuram city.
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