In photos: 48 Raja Ravi Varma prints with fabric and zari embellishments are on show in Australia

Raja Ravi Varma's art went viral, thanks to the prints and posters he made in his own press at the turn of the 20th century. His use of Western techniques to depict Indian gods, goddesses, royalty but also everyday scenes caught the imagination of a people who could not otherwise have afforded his oils, A new exhibition in Australia is revisiting his work. (Images courtesy QAGOMA, from the art show 'The God of Small Things: Faith and Popular Culture)

When Raja Ravi Varma set up the Ravi Varma Fine Arts Lithographic Press in Mumbai in 1894, he also immortalized his art. For, colour prints of his oil paintings—of gods and goddesses, kings and queens—came to populate calendars, matchboxes, postcards, textiles and advertisements that found acceptance in homes all over India—both during the British Raj and in Independent India. Now, a set of 48 embellished oleographs by Raja Ravi Varma are on show at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia, till October 5. The exhibition, titled ‘The God of Small Things: Faith and Popular Culture’, also features some embellished prints including those with bundaki or dots design and zardozi embroidery. (Featured here: [from left] 1. Sheshnarayan, early 20th century, printed c. 1910–20 / Oleograph with bundaki embellishment, before conservation treatment / 2. Adi Laxmi, early 20th century, printed c.1930 / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / 3. Mohini, early 20th century, printed c.1910–20 (after Raja Ravi Varma’s painting Mohini 1894)/ Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA) Printing technology was evolving quickly at the turn of the 19th century, and Raja Ravi Varma's press in Mumbai used German machines to produce oleographs of such high quality and relevance to Indians that they went viral—even by today's standards, the speed and breadth of their uptake were impressive. The 48 "embellished prints" in this show were printed between 1910 and the 1930s. (Featured here: [from left] 1. Saraswati 1894, printed c.1930s / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment/ 2. Vishwamitratopbhang early 20th century, printed c.1910–20/ Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / 3. Padmini c.1896–97, printed c.1930s / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA) Expectedly, Urvashi, Mohini, Radha, Padmini, Adi Laxmi and other women from Hindu mythology feature prominently in this set of 48 prints. (Featured here: [from left] 1. Urvashi Pururavas 1896, printed early 20th century / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery / 2. Shree Radha Rukmani Krishna early 20th century, printed c.1930s / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / 3. Laxmi 1894, printed c.1930s / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)

But the show also includes a lovely oleograph of Vasantasena, the glamorous heroine of Sudraka's Sanskrit play 'Mṛichchhakatika' or 'The Little Cart'. The work is based off Raja Ravi Varma's 1893 painting 'Bombay Singer'. And along with its fabric and zardozi embroidery details, the embellished print bears Ravi Varma's trademark vivid colours and voluptuous detail—note the way the fabric of the curtains and of the sari drapes and folds and falls. (Featured here: Vasantasena early 20th century, printed c.1910–20 (after Raja Ravi Varma’s painting Bombay Singer 1893) / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / 50.8 x 35.56cm / All works in this show were purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)

Hindu mythology was indeed a major source of inspiration for the Kerala-born artist. In this set of 48, the pantheon draws upon gods from both the north and south of India. Krishna with Rukmani and Radha occupies one frame. There's Nataraja, stepping on a fearsome demon. Vishnu appearing before the child Dhruva. In 'Rampanchapttan', Ram is surrounded by his greatest devotee Hanuman, his wife Sita and brothers Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan. In 'Bala Sakandha', we see the radiant child-god Kartikeya beside his peacock. (Featured here: [from left] 1. 'Dhruvnarayan', early 20th century, printed c.1910–20/ Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / 2. 'Rampanchapttan', early 20th century, printed c.1910–20 / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / 3. 'Natraaj', early 20th century / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)

In each work, there is the imprint of Ravi Varma's Western training, too. Through the realism of his scenes, his use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro) and perspective, Ravi Varma straddles the worlds of Indian sensibility and mythology on the one hand and Western art traditions and technique on the other. (Featured here: Rukmani Kalyanam early 20th century, printed c.1930s / Oleograph with bindi embellishment, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)

The show—curated by Abigail Bernal, associate curator of Asian art at QAGOMA—follows a conservation and research effort where staff from QAGOMA travelled to Bengaluru's MAP (Museum of Art and Photography). The work was funded by the "Maitri grant through the Australian Government and administered by the Centre for Australia-India Relations to support this world leading research and conservation project, which will include digital storytelling", QAGOMA said. (Featured here: Garud Wahan Vishnu, c.1895–99, printed c.1930 / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / / All works purchased by QAGOMA in 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)

"Many of these works were originally displayed in private domestic settings, in devotional puja rooms and spaces for worship. Some have been lovingly hand-embellished with brightly coloured cloth, beads and zardozi embroidery," Tarun Nagesh, Curatorial Manager of Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA said in the press release. "Printed and subsequently embellished a century or more ago, these works require(d) significant and complex conservation treatment to stabilise their condition," Nagesh added. (Featured here: Bala Sakandha early 20th century, printed c.1930s / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)

"The exhibition delves into the intersection between devotional imagery and popular culture, capturing the divine as a living part of everyday life," the QAGOMA release said. (Featured here: Kothanda Rama 1927, printed unknown (after a painting by Ramaswamy Raghunath Naidu) / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / Oleograph with fabric and zardozi embroidery, before conservation treatment / All works purchased by QAGOMA 2024 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA)