Letter #5 Raja Ravi Varma, The History of Indian Art and Why Do Humans Make Art?
What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence -Claude Monet
Dear Friend,
I want to start this letter by welcoming our new subscribers. I am delighted to see that the bohemian dialogue community is growing. This week I want to discuss the history of Indian art and the life of Raja Ravi Varma.
I was awestruck by Raja Ravi Varma's paintings when I first saw them. Honestly, I suck at drawing even simple shapes, but when I saw his painting and how he portrayed the expressions on the canvas. I was lost for words. One of my favorite paintings of Raja Ravi Varma is "Radha in the moonlight." It's one of the most beautiful paintings painted by him.
Raja Ravi Varma is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. Raja Ravi Varma was born in the princely state of Travancore into an aristocratic family. Later, Raja Ravi Varma started a lithographic printing press in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, in the year 1894. Raja Ravi Varma's press brought Hindu gods and goddesses inside people's homes. The press primarily publishes the oleographs of Hindu gods and goddesses.
The history of Indian art can be traced back to 3300 bc, the times of the Indus valley civilization, and historians have also found rock paintings that are 10,000 years old. After reading about Raja Ravi Varma and the history of Indian art, one question kept emerging, i.e., "Why do humans make art?".
“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” - Vincent Van Gogh
The original thought was what would be the first motivation humans felt to make art. When I researched it, I found thousands of motivations, like making surroundings beautiful, recording historical events, and expressing and communicating ideas. There are countless motivations, but I want to thank the first human who made the first piece of art, and while his reasons are not clear, he gave us a gift that we could see the fantastic painting of Vincent Van Gogh and the Raja Ravi Vama.
I'll end my letter here, my friend.
Yours,
Bohemian Dialogue