Raja Ravi Varma - Woman Holding A Fruit Late 19th Century ()
Ravi Varma was born into an aristocratic family of Kerala. He taught himself the intricacies of oil painting and the practices of European naturalism. ‘Woman Holding a Fruit’ shows Ravi Varma’s mastery over the idioms of a new visual language in India. In the naturalistic depiction of the young woman, Ravi Varma lyrically combines eroticism with innocence. His handling of colours – mostly soft pinks and browns – heightens the tenderness evoked in this painting.