Oil Painting in Kerala



Like in the rest of India, oil painting is a recent introduction in Kerala as well. Traditional Indian painting does not include this art technique but with the influx of Europeans, Indians learnt oil painting and learnt it well.

How can one speak of oil painting in Kerala, or in India for that matter and not speak of Raja Ravi Verma? Born in 1843 at the Kilimanoor Palace, 25 km from Thiruvananthapuram, Raja Ravi Verma was one of the greatest artists in the world of Indian Art.

He won the first prize in Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873 and won international acclaim in addition to the laurels headped on him back home.

The themes of Ravi Verma’s paintings were scenes from the Indian epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata or stills from the myths and legends of India such as the tale of King Nala and Princess Damayanti.

Having learnt water paintings under Ramaswamy Naidu and oil paintings under the British painter Theodor Jenson, Raja Ravi Verma's style was a classic fusion of the two.

His depiction of the saree clad women seems extremely realistic and the folds of their sarees, their tresses and their ornaments were almost lifelike. But what enthralls the onlooker is the expression on the face of these characters, the glaze in their eyes, and the "lost in her thought" look of these women.

It seems that the master painter has captured a moment of these women's lives for eternity. None of his models are of extraordinary beauty but they all have an ethereal quality that lends radiance and even the ordinary women look like Goddesses.

Raja Ravi Verma's expertise was his use of oil to depict the contrast between light and shadow.

This theme is brought out best in his masterpiece painting Lady with the Lamp. Some of his other popular pieces are-

* Damayanti Talking to a Swan
* Lady Lost in Thought
* Village Belle
* Shakuntala
* Harischandra in Distress

Though not many oil painters were present in Kerala before Raja Ravi Verma, the maestro’s lineage has been successfully carried forward by many in the state. George Oommen is one of the contemporary oil painters of international acclaim.

Though he lives in the USA, he derives his inspiration from the beauty of Kerala and in the last decade has painted a series of landscapes, a series called "Sacred Places within You" and a series of miniature paintings.

Key words: Kerala painting, kerala murals, kerala oil paintings, kerala tourism, kerala travel