Not currently on display at the V&A

Kartik

Kalighat Painting
2000 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This painting shows the Hindu god Kartik, the prince of the gods and son of Shiva. The standard depiction of Kartikeya in Kalighat painting has always shown him sitting astride a peacock in the same manner as this colourful version. The mixture of red betel nut juice with whiter pigments produces the vibrant pink that has been used as the background colour


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleKartik (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Organic pigments on handmade paper.
Brief description
Kalighat painting 'Kartik', by Ranjit Chitraka Medinipur, West Bengal, 2000.
Physical description
This painting shows the god prince Kartik astride on his peacock vehicle. The artist uses a distinctive shade of bright pink in the background to make the central figure of Kartik stand out. The painting is nearly a square, with the central figure filling the entire space. The figure of Kartik wears western style shoes, a floppy wide brimmed hat and has a shawl draped over his forearms. He wears a white dhoti which is edged in grey to represent the shading that indicated volume on traditional Kalighat painting techniques.
Dimensions
  • Height: 465mm
  • Width: 380mm
Gallery label
The standard depiction of Kartikeya, son of Shiva, in Kalighat painting has always shown him sitting astride a peacock in the same manner as this colourful version. The mixture of red betel nut juice with whiter pigments produces the vibrant pink that has been used as the background colour. (October 2011 - May 2012)
Summary
This painting shows the Hindu god Kartik, the prince of the gods and son of Shiva. The standard depiction of Kartikeya in Kalighat painting has always shown him sitting astride a peacock in the same manner as this colourful version. The mixture of red betel nut juice with whiter pigments produces the vibrant pink that has been used as the background colour
Bibliographic reference
Sinha, Suhashini, and Panda, C, eds. Kalighat Paintings from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2012. ISBN 1851776656. p101 cat. no.89
Collection
Accession number
IS.43-2011

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 11, 2011
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest