The New Lamp
Raja Ravi Varma
The Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation
Bengaluru, India
The turn of the 19th Century was an interesting time, especially for the ever observant Raja Ravi Varma and his brother, C Raja Raja Varma. They not only made the best use of the modern inventions but also documented them through their sketches and paintings. In the Diary of C Raja Raja Varma, there is an entry on 14th June 1898- "After nightfall Shriram Pant showed me the new gas lamp he has ordered from Germany. It gives a steady, brilliant light and will be in use in those places where gas is not available." In this sketch, the new lamp is prominently placed in the foreground and captured with all its details. The person reading in the background may even be one of the Varma brothers for he has his hair in a tuft or kudumi as it is called in South India.
- Title: The New Lamp
- Creator: Raja Ravi Varma
- Location: India
- Physical Dimensions: 34 x 24 cms
- Type: Sketch
- Original Source: Collection of DAG- New Delhi, Mumbai, New York.
- Rights: Curatorial rights: The Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation, Bengaluru
- Medium: Watercolour and Graphite on Paper
- Creator's Lifetime: 1848-04-29/1906-10-02
- Creator's Biography: Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was a prolific Indian artist who is recognized for his resorting to the academic realistic style of painting. His portraits of English and Indian royalty and aristocracy were well received. His paintings on Hindu religious and mythological subjects and paintings from classical and literary sources were highly sought after even during his lifetime. He painted several copies of his works and this demand led to the suggestion to have his paintings printed in the form of oleographs. The Ravi Varma Fine Art Lithographic Press was established in Bombay (now Mumbai) and commenced operations in 1894. Many of Ravi Varma's paintings were printed as chromolithographs at this Press. These chromolithographs would have a tremendous impact on religion, society and aesthetics. They went on to democratize art leading to immortalize Ravi Varma in the minds of the people of the Indian subcontinent.
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