An artist at work
Kalighat Painting
2008 (painted)
2008 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Working within the boundaries of the secular satirical tradition of Kalighat painting, Anwar Chitrakar has created an astute observation on working artists. The artist here is shown immaculately dressed, his hair, expensive clothes and beard the height of fashion. All his new brushes are laid out neatly on the table next to him. However, the work he is producing is a blank featureless portrait, devoid of detail and colour. The message is a simple one about the merits of substance over style.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | An artist at work (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Organic pigments on handmade paper |
| Brief description | Kalighat painting 'An artist at work', by Anwar Chitrakar, Medinipur, West Bengal, 2008. |
| Physical description | The painting shows one central figure of an artist, stnadign by a rectangular four legged table on the left and a circular three footed table (although the third foot is suggested rather than shown) on the right. The predominant colours used are red, yellow and brown, and there is a blue curtain overhead. The artist's outfit is in the style of a 'kurta pyjama' but the robe wraps over at the front and is tied with a sash in the manner of a dressing gown. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Working within the boundaries of the secular satirical tradition of Kalighat painting, Anwar Chitrakar has created an astute observation on working artists. The artist here is shown immaculately dressed, his hair, expensive clothes and beard the height of fashion. All his new brushes are laid out neatly on the table next to him. However, the work he is producing is a blank featureless portrait, devoid of detail and colour. The message is a simple one about the merits of substance over style.(October 2011 - May 2012) |
| Summary | Working within the boundaries of the secular satirical tradition of Kalighat painting, Anwar Chitrakar has created an astute observation on working artists. The artist here is shown immaculately dressed, his hair, expensive clothes and beard the height of fashion. All his new brushes are laid out neatly on the table next to him. However, the work he is producing is a blank featureless portrait, devoid of detail and colour. The message is a simple one about the merits of substance over style. |
| 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.
p.104 cat.no 94 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.48-2011 |
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| Record created | November 16, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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