Lakshmi & Saraswati!! The best combo ever!! These are oleograph prints of Lakshmi and Saraswati by Ravi Varma an Indian who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
These lithographs are from 1920s most of them have signs of fading, paper creases, also they come with some minor damages at times yet people want them badly. There are collectors and crazy fans out there for Ravi Varma’s lithograph prints. I should admit that I am one among them. We cherish those visible scratches and chip offs as they are the reminders of the story they have been part of. They all have 100 years of their story to tell.
These prints are not available coz they are sold! Yet i am happy! Wanna know why? I at-least own their beautiful pictures. They are my real treasure!! I know I cannot keep them all to myself forever and one day I will have to say good bye to them.. So me and my husband decided to document all the artwork which crosses our lives both Vintage and antiques right from Tanjore paintings, lithographs, chromo lithographs, early steel engravings, wooden sculptures, stone sculptures.. we started documenting all.
Among the Ravi Varma's oleograph prints, Lakshmi & Saraswati combo comes first in the list just like any Ravi Varma oleograph print lovers.
Who is Raja Ravi Varma? Raja Ravi Varma (29 April 1848–2 October 1906) was a celebrated Indian artist, famous for his realistic portrayal of Indian gods, goddesses and mythological characters. Raja Ravi Varma was the first to make prints (or lithographs) of his artworks affordable and easily available, bringing fine art to the masses.
And what are Oleograph Prints? The Greek word litho means 'stone' and graphein means 'to write' so Lithography can be defined as 'stone printing'. The printing plate originally used were porous stones. The printing portion of the stone plate was treated to absorb ink and the nonprinting area was treated to repel ink. Depending on the number of colours present, an oleograph could take months to produce by very skilled workers.