Lady with a Fruit – Raja Ravi Varma

A glance over the shoulder, a fruit in her hand. Against a dark background, a young woman turns her head and looks at us over her shoulder with a shy, knowing smile. She holds a round yellow fruit in her fingers and draws her red sari with its gold border around her shoulders. Gold earrings, a nose ring, a bindi and heavy bangles catch the light.

Ravi Varma painted many portraits of women from Kerala and Maharashtra, in which a simple gesture, holding a fruit, arranging a sari, becomes the subject of the picture. This one owes its charm to the intimacy of the glance and to the glow of the red and gold silk.

Why it works on your wall

• Warm and intimate: red, gold and deep browns for a bedroom, a living room or a reading corner
• A classic of Indian art: the refined beauty of Ravi Varma’s portraits of women
• Framing tip: an ornate gold frame gives it the presence of a museum portrait

Raja Ravi Varma

Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906) is considered the father of modern Indian painting. He combined Indian subjects with European oil technique, painting the women of Kerala and Maharashtra as well as the heroines of Hindu epics, and his lithographic press, founded in 1894, spread his images all over India. Read more in our article on Ravi Varma, the pioneer of modern Indian art.

• Artist: Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)
• Technique: oil painting
• Theme: Indian woman, sari, portrait

Your print

• Colours restored from a high-definition scan of the original
• Printed in Europe on thick archival matte paper, FSC certified
• From A4 to A0, plus 40×60, 50×70, 60×90 and 70×100 cm and 12×18 to 27×40 inch sizes, all made for standard frames
• Free shipping, no minimum order. Shipped rolled in a sturdy tube

Pair it with Ravi Varma’s Lady Making a Garland or Ashtabhuja Devi, or explore our vintage travel posters.