Raja Ravi Varma – The Father of Modern Indian Art

Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), one of the great Indian artists of his day, who is even today held in high esteem as one of the foremost artists of India, was born on 29 April 1848 in Kilimanur. The originals of Ravi Varma’s paintings are mostly owned by various public and private galleries in Bombay, Laxmivilas palace at Baroda, Mysore palace and Udaipur palace and in the National Art Gallery, New Delhi and Salarjang museum. There is a fairly representative collection of his more important paintings in the Ravi Varma Gallery in Sri Chitra Art Gallery at Trivandrum. Most of his paintings are based on Hindu epic stories and characters. In 1873 he won the First Prize at the Madras Painting Exhibition. He became a world famous Indian painter after winning in 1873 Vienna Exhibition. The design of the stamp includes besides the artist’s picture, ‘Damayanthi and Swan’-one of his paintings. Raja Ravi Varma is also called ‘A Prince Among Painters and A Painter Among Princes’There was no greater artist than Ravi Varma either during his lifetime or in Indian Art History. Perhaps the most memorable is by Dr. Abanindranath Tagore, a revered name in Indian art, “it is rare to come across men like him, artists like him, lovers of India like him”.

Issued to mark 65th Death Anniversary of Raja Ravi Varma.

Date of Issue : 29-04-1971. Denomination: 20(Ps). Perforation: 13. No watermark