In this article, we have discussed famous Indian portrait artists and paintings of the 19^th -20^th centuries. Upon reading it, you also know about some unknown facts about the artists.

Indian painting has a long history of Indian art. And there were many talented master artists in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Here I have listed few portrait artists coupled with their extraordinary artworks.

Raja Ravi Verma: (29^th April 1848 – 2^nd October 1906)

Personal Life: Raja Ravi Verma was born on 29^th April in 1948 at Kilimanoor Palace, which was the princely state of Travancore (now Kerala). He belonged to an aristocratic family. Ravi Verma was the son of the couple Ezhumavil Neelakanthan Bhattatripad and Umayamba Thampuratti. His mother Umayamba Bayi Thampuratti was a writer and poet and father was a Sanskrit and Ayurveda scholar.

Art Life: 

Ravi Verma was one of the greatest painters of India. He is also called as “The father of Indian modern Art”. He was famous for his implementation of European techniques in Indian traditional art. Raja Ravi Verma made his paintings prints easily available to the public. This earned him more fame and success as a painter. Indeed, he became more influential painters of that time.

Verma was also one of the most controversial artists of that time for many different reasons. Despite many controversies, Ravi Verma is the inspiration for many Indian modern and contemporary artists.

R.R Verma First learned basic painting skills in Madurai and later professionally trained by Rama Swami Naidu. In 1873, Verma won an award for his painting exhibition at Vienna and praised by the public. Ravi Verma’s paintings won 3 gold medals at World’s Columbian Exposition.

Raja Ravi Verma was outstanding in depicting Hindu deities beautifully in his paintings. Most of his subjects were from Puranas. Especially Mahabharata characters, Dushyanta and Shakuntala, Nala and Damayanti.  He had chosen south Indian women as models as he considered them beautiful. Some of Ravi Verma’s amazing portrait paintings are listed below.

Portrait Artist Raja Ravi Verma’s Famous Portrait Paintings

Amrita Sher-Gil (30^th January 1913 – 5^th December 1941)

One of the Famous Indian Portrait Artists Of Early 20th Century

Sheri Gil was born on 30^th January 1913 in Budapest, Hungary. Her father Umarao Singh Sher Gil Majithia was an Indian and mother Marie Gottesmann was a Hungarian. Amrita was the elder of two daughters. She was a beautiful, charismatic, and equally talented lady.

Art Life:

At first in her childhood, Sher Gil used to paint her house servants. She went to Paris at the age of 16 to learn painting. While in Paris, she got more attention as a young artist for her conviction and maturity in her artworks.

Amrita’s oil painting with European style “Young Girls” made her so famous in 1932. Her painting skills were recognized and celebrated. In addition to that, she also won a gold medal. Amrita Sher Girl elected as an associate of the grand salon in Paris. Not only that but also she was the only Asian to have received this recognition.

From 1932 to 1936 Sher Gil has done many paintings including self-portraits. And many of them were made in European styles. Some of her works include Self-portrait paintings, still life paintings, and nude paintings.

Amrita returned to India in 1934. She had a quest for traditional Indian art. In 1937, she created some beautiful paintings on Indian culture.

1. Indian government named her artworks as “National Treasures”. Currently, most of her paintings are available at the “National Gallery of Modern Art” In Mumbai, India. 
2. There is also a road in Lutyen’s Delhi named after her “Amrita Sher Gil Marg”.

Amrita died in 1941 at the age of 28, few days before her major show in Lahore. Even though she died at a very young age, she established a great name for herself in Indian art history. Sher Gil’s artworks were and are inspirational for many Indian artist generations.