Which of the following statements about Raja Ravi Varma of the Travancore Court is NOT correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → He was trained at the Calcutta School of Art.
Option (1) He mastered the style of academic realism. — True of Raja Ravi Varma. He mastered it by imitating copies of European paintings popular in Indian palaces.
Option (2) Many of his paintings were copied as oleographs and sold in the market. — True of Raja Ravi Varma. His paintings became so popular that they were copied as oleographs and even became calendar images.
Option (3) He depicted scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. — True of Raja Ravi Varma. He used academic realism to depict scenes from these popular epics.
Option (4) He was trained at the Calcutta School of Art. — Not true of Raja Ravi Varma. He was a self-taught artist. His best works were made away from the art schools set up by the British.
NCERT (2026-27): “Raja Ravi Varma …What, However, flourished in the art schools set up by the British was the academic style of oil painting that used a European medium to depict Indian subject matter. The most successful examples of this type of painting were found away from these art schools. They are best seen in the works produced by self-taught artist, Raja Ravi Varma of the Travancore Court in Kerala. By imitating copies of European paintings popular in Indian palaces, he mastered the style of academic realism and used it to depict scenes from popular epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. They became so popular that many of his paintings were copied as oleographs and were sold in market.” |