{
  "id": 15407516,
  "title": "Writer’s Corner | From court to art gallery: the lawyer chronicling Ravi Varma’s legacy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/writers-corner-from-court-to-art-gallery-the-lawyer-chronicling-ravi",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-18T12:17:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/lawyer-ganesh-shivaswamy-raja-ravi-varma-art-history-10926943/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Raja Ravi Varma, the renowned Indian painter, has left a lasting impact on Indian art and culture. Ganesh Shivaswamy, a fifth-generation lawyer from Bengaluru, has dedicated his life to chronicling Ravi Varma's legacy. His journey into the world of art began when he was diagnosed with a pituitary gland tumor in the 90s and was treated by Dr. R M Varma, a family friend and a descendant of Raja Ravi Varma. During his recovery, Dr. Varma advised Shivaswamy to look at art as it energized him. This led him to Raja Ravi Varma, whose prints became widely available in Bangalore as old stately homes were being demolished. Shivaswamy found Ravi Varma's images appealing because they resonated with the common man in India, unlike other artists who usually cater to patrons and museums. Ravi Varma's work also had a significant influence on the depiction of contemporary religious art, making human-like representations of the divine more accessible. Shivaswamy is currently working on a six-volume work titled \"Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint,\" which explores the artist's life and work from the perspective of both royal patronage and popular interaction. He emphasizes the importance of validating information through multiple sources, as a lawyer and historian share similar skills in constructing narratives based on limited evidence. For aspiring art enthusiasts, Shivaswamy suggests starting with an understanding of how Ravi Varma's images represented current affairs and became an integral part of people's lives.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}