Oleograph​

Oleograph, also called chromolithograph or chromo, colour lithograph, are  produced by preparing a separate stone by hand for each colour to be used, and printing one colour in register over another. The term is most often used in reference to commercial prints. Sometimes as many as 30 stones were used for a single print, Depending on the number of colours present, an oleograph could take months to produce by very skilled workers. The technique was pioneered in the 1830s but came into wide commercial use only in the 1860s.

In India, oleographs were made mainstream by the artist Raja Ravi Varma. He began depicting Indian gods and goddesses in his art in the late 19th century when places of worship were only accessible to certain classes of society. Through affordable art prints, or oleographs, he made religious imagery accessible across class and caste. Initially these were printed in Germany, but later were printed at his own printing press, the Ravi Varma Press, which he started in 1894 in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. This was later shifted to Malavli, near Lonavala, in 1899. The oleographs printed here were very popular and continued to be printed in large numbers for several years, even after the death of Raja Ravi Varma in 1906. Along with him, other artists of the time, such as G.V. Venkatesh Rao, Vasudeo Pandya, S.S.Brijbasi and CG Ramanujam also created oleographs. The subjects were mainly Indian gods and goddesses, and scenes and stories from Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Puranas.
In later decades, many of Ravi Varma’s oleographs were ornated with cloth, glitter, sequins, and beads by countless women across the country, to be displayed on domestic walls. This additional decoration made each of the pieces unique, and more valuable. Some of the oleographs also became carriers for colonial products adverting toiletries and other sundry goods. An oleograph of Goddess Lakshmi advertising a brand of soap, for instance, had women rushing to buy the product.
Today, oleographs in good condition are extremely hard to find, and hence, are prized collectibles.