Raja Ravi Varma Portfolio set of Ten offset lithographs of size 16-11 inch size , detailed biography of Raja Ravi Varma with Museums details released by the team who has worked on this for one year. This was Limited eddition & only 2000 copies were made each having a unique number with rulling kings signature called as “ Gakewad Collection” issued in 1996 30 years back “
Photographs of Royal Family & team associated with this projects releasing this portfolio dated back in 1996.
This is perhapps only portfolio released by Royal Family to showcase its collection to public.
The Gaekwad (Gakewad) family of Baroda played a pivotal role in the rise and recognition of Raja Ravi Varma as a court artist and as a national figure in Indian art history. Here’s a concise breakdown of their association:
🏛 The Gaekwad-Ravi Varma Connection
1. Commission by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III:-
• In 1881, Raja Ravi Varma was invited to Baroda (Vadodara) by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, a forward-thinking and art-loving ruler of the princely state.
• The Maharaja commissioned several portraits and mythological paintings, including royal family portraits, to be displayed in the Laxmi Vilas Palace.
2. Portraits and Royal Imagery:-
• Ravi Varma painted striking portraits of Sayajirao Gaekwad, his consort Maharani Chimnabai I, and other members of the royal family.
• His style—blending European realism with Indian themes—perfectly suited the aspirations of Indian royalty seeking to modernize their image.
3. Mythological Paintings:- Apart from portraits, the Gaekwads also commissioned Hindu mythological paintings, notably Lakshmi and Saraswati, which later became iconic.
• These works eventually formed the template for his mass-produced lithographs.
4. Catalyst for Ravi Varma Press:-The success and exposure gained through the Baroda commissions encouraged Ravi Varma to find ways to make his work accessible to the public.
Baroda Collections photograph( Taken by Chipulkar, SN Singh etc) meet with huge success this leads to establishing of press where his painting can be converted into lithographs.
This directly led to the establishment of the Ravi Varma Press in 1894, where prints of earlier royal commissions were widely circulated.
5. Legacy and Display:- Many of Ravi Varma’s original paintings for the Gaekwad family are still preserved in Baroda’s royal collections and museums.
• They stand as an example of the fusion of Indian tradition with colonial-era art aesthetics.
Raja Ravi Varma, though not a political revolutionary or freedom fighter in the conventional sense, made a deep and lasting contribution to India’s freedom movement—culturally, psychologically, and emotionally—through his art and visual imagination. His role can be understood as a cultural nationalist, laying the aesthetic and symbolic foundation for national awakening. Here’s how:
🔥 1.
Made Indian Identity Visible to the Masses
Before Ravi Varma, classical Indian themes were confined to temples, manuscripts, or murals.
He brought mythological, Puranic, and epic heroes to life on canvas—and then to homes via lithographs.
Indians now saw Lord Rama, Krishna, Sita, Lakshmi, Saraswati in relatable, human forms, dressed in contemporary Indian attire. This deepened cultural pride.
🇮🇳 2.
Pan-Indian Cultural Unification
His lithographs reached north and south, villages and cities, cutting across linguistic and regional boundaries.
It created a common visual language of Indian identity, long before the idea of political unity had matured.
🎨 3.
Reclaimed Hindu Epics from Colonial Interpretation
British colonial scholars often interpreted Indian mythology as primitive or backward.
Ravi Varma’s elevated, dignified, and elegant portrayals of Indian deities and heroines (like Shakuntala, Damayanti, Draupadi) challenged colonial stereotypes and reclaimed Hindu heritage with pride.
🛕 4.
Cultural Resistance through Aesthetic Power
While the British were imposing their systems of education, law, and governance, Ravi Varma was restoring emotional and visual confidence in India’s ancient past.
This kind of soft resistance laid the ground for a cultural and psychological freedom—the first step before political liberation.
🧾 5.
Lithograph Revolution: Art for the People
Through the Ravi Varma Press, he democratized art.
Indians could now own images of their gods and heroes—no longer limited to temples or royal homes.
This created mass emotional ownership of Indian epics and values.
🧑🏽🎨 6.
Inspired the Swadeshi Artists
His work became a reference point for future nationalist artists:
Abanindranath Tagore and the Bengal School evolved in reaction to Ravi Varma—but still carried forward his vision of Indian themes in Indian style.
His approach influenced the visual symbolism used in the Swadeshi Movement, where Bharat Mata (Mother India) emerged as a goddess-like figure.
🕊️ 7.
Humanized Indian Women—Soft Power in Freedom Narrative
Ravi Varma’s women were strong, graceful, intelligent, and emotionally complex.
Paintings like “Shakuntala,” “Damayanti,” and “Savitri” symbolized sacrifice, intellect, and courage—qualities that mirrored the ideals of the freedom movement.
Conclusion:
Raja Ravi Varma was a cultural nationalist whose brush became a silent sword.
His paintings shaped India’s soul long before India sought its body back from the British.
His contribution was not through speeches or protests, but through the imagination of a free, dignified, and culturally rich India. This emotional and visual unification was a prerequisite for India’s later political unification.
The Gaekwad family’s patronage was crucial in transforming Ravi Varma from a talented artist into a national & internation icon & with his work he was awarded as "Kaisar-A- Hind" tittle which is equivilant to "Bhart Ratna " in todays time.
Gave him prestige and visibility at internation level.
Encouraged his move into mass reproduction & helped him to open his dream projects of press to produce mass production so his presence can be reached to every Indian home.
Helped shape the modern visual identity of Hindu deities like Laxmi, Saraswati ,Sita, Ram & Krishana.
He has played a crucial role in our national freedom movement when many of his creation used as symbol against opresseed indian in colonical British Raj, Like Rama with Kaushalya & bird in cage, Shivaji Maharaj.
