Raja Ravi Varma (April 29, 1848- October 2, 1906) was an Indian painter who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art.
He often modeled Hindu Goddesses on South Indian women, whom he considered beautiful.
He is often criticized for being too showy and sentimental in his style. However his work remains very popular in India.
Raja Ravi Varma is often criticized for the fact that his paintings overshadowed traditional Indian art forms because of their widespread reproduction as oleographs, flooding Indian culture with his version of Indian myths, portrayed with a rather static realism.
By rejecting the traditional models of representation, he has reduced mythic heroes to the level of ordinary humans, a form that has been copied in many depictions of mythic history in other media such as cinema and television.
Considering his vast contribution to Indian art, the Government of Kerala has instituted an award called Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram, which is awarded every year to people who show excellence in the field of art and culture.
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