C. Raja Raja Varma was an Indian painter and the youngest brother of the painter
Raja Ravi Varma. He was known as a
plein-air
''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors.
This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...
artist. He acted as assistant, secretary, and business manager to his brother.
Life
Varma was also an
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
scholar. His diary ''The Diary of C. Raja Raja Varma'' was published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
(edited by Erwin Neumayer and Christine Schelberger).
It is considered as one of the most important and authentic source materials on the last ten years of the life of Raja Ravi Varma.
On 4 January 1905 after an operation for inflammation of the intestines, Raja Varma died childless at
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
. His nephew said that Varma regretted not having provided well for his wife, Janaki, who outlived him.
The British administrator
Edgar Thurston
Edgar Thurston CIE (1855– 12 October 1935) was the British Superintendent at the Madras Government Museum from 1885 to 1908 who contributed to research studies in the fields of zoology, ethnology and botany of India, and later also publish ...
was significant in promoting the careers of both Varma brothers.
References
* Kilimanur Chandran, ''Raja Ravi Varmayum Chithrakalyum'', Department of Cultural publications, Government of Kerala, 1999. (in Malayalam)
*
External links
Paintings of C. Raja Raja Varma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varma, C. Raja Raja
Indian male painters
1933 deaths
Indian diarists
Year of birth missing
19th-century Indian painters
Painters from Kerala
Sibling artists
19th-century Indian male artists