Varma’s popularity grew at the height of the British Empire in India, as Western-style oil painting, with its emphasis on depth and chiaroscuro, gained prominence in the country. He began by painting grand portraits of royal and noble figures from across India and later turned to scenes from Hindu mythology in his work, becoming the first Indian artist to gain a nationwide audience. In “Indian Painting from 1825 to 1900,” published in the 2011 volume Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, independent researcher Tryna Lyons describes Varma as “the first of India’s ‘gentleman artists’” because, “at the time that he made the daring decision to learn the craft of painting, artists enjoyed roughly the same social status as tailors and cabinet makers.” His paintings and oleographs, produced by his own printing press, came to define Hindu religious iconography in India. Professor Knut A. Jacobsen, in his 2004 article, “The Child Manifestation of Śiva in Contemporary Hindu Popular Prints,” published in Numen, argues that Ravi Varma was the undisputed founder of a genre he terms the “God poster industry.” This genre took on a vibrant life of its own and remains popular today.
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