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The Maharaja of Travancore and his younger brother welcoming Richard Temple-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Governor-General of Madras (1875-80), on his official visit to Trivandrum in 1880
oil on canvas, inscribed on the reverse in a contemporary hand Ravi Varma Coil Tampooran, January 1881
By Raja Ravi Varma (India, 1848-1906)
The painting depicts the welcoming party at Trivandrum, capital of Travancore (a princely state in southern India) for the 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Richard Temple-Grenville, who was Governor-General of Madras from 1875 to 1880. Accompanied by his aide-de-camp and British army officers, he is received here by Visakham Tirunal, the younger brother of the Maharaja of Travancore, who was to succeed his brother in May 1880. Governors normally toured during the cold weather, visiting the Indian princes, and hence the event can be dated to the months before May 1880. The Maharaja, Ayilayam Tirunal (reg. 1860-1880), stands behind him. The building behind them bears the conch shell, the symbol of the state of Travancore, as well as a welcoming message for the Duke.
There is no known contemporary reference to this particular work, since the diary kept meticulously by the artist's brother, C. Raja Raja Varma, had begun to be kept only from 1895. There is however another contemporary account, which puts us at a moment soon after that depicted in the painting:
1880 Visit of the Governor of Madras (The Duke of Buckingham) to Travancore. The governor's eagerness to meet RV caused jealousy in the king. When the Duke met Ravi Varma in the presence of the king, he asked him to sit with them, which, according to the custom of the land was unthinkable. RV declined to sit in the presence of the king and the three, the governor, the king, and the painter, remained standing while talking. RV knew that he was now out of favour with the king and left Trivandrum never to come back during the lifetime of the king. (quoted in Neumayer and Schelberger, p. 300).
oil on canvas, inscribed on the reverse in a contemporary hand Ravi Varma Coil Tampooran, January 1881
By Raja Ravi Varma (India, 1848-1906)
The painting depicts the welcoming party at Trivandrum, capital of Travancore (a princely state in southern India) for the 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Richard Temple-Grenville, who was Governor-General of Madras from 1875 to 1880. Accompanied by his aide-de-camp and British army officers, he is received here by Visakham Tirunal, the younger brother of the Maharaja of Travancore, who was to succeed his brother in May 1880. Governors normally toured during the cold weather, visiting the Indian princes, and hence the event can be dated to the months before May 1880. The Maharaja, Ayilayam Tirunal (reg. 1860-1880), stands behind him. The building behind them bears the conch shell, the symbol of the state of Travancore, as well as a welcoming message for the Duke.
There is no known contemporary reference to this particular work, since the diary kept meticulously by the artist's brother, C. Raja Raja Varma, had begun to be kept only from 1895. There is however another contemporary account, which puts us at a moment soon after that depicted in the painting:
1880 Visit of the Governor of Madras (The Duke of Buckingham) to Travancore. The governor's eagerness to meet RV caused jealousy in the king. When the Duke met Ravi Varma in the presence of the king, he asked him to sit with them, which, according to the custom of the land was unthinkable. RV declined to sit in the presence of the king and the three, the governor, the king, and the painter, remained standing while talking. RV knew that he was now out of favour with the king and left Trivandrum never to come back during the lifetime of the king. (quoted in Neumayer and Schelberger, p. 300).
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