Usha viewing the portrait of Aniruddha thumbnail 1
Usha viewing the portrait of Aniruddha thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Usha viewing the portrait of Aniruddha

Painting
ca. 1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Usha examines the portraits of the great personages of the universe in order to identify the young man with whom she has fallen in love in a dream. She is seated in a room attended by a maid and her sakhi companion), who hands her the portraits, including one of Balarama. Outside in the courtyard Usha is again shown, in conversation with her sakhi, while her friend Chitralekha, who painted the portraits, appears flying through the air to fetch Anirudha, following the discovery that he was the subject of Usha's dream. Illustration from an Aniruddha Usha series. The painting is surrounded by a dark blue band and an outer border of pink, flecked with a red stipple.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleUsha viewing the portrait of Aniruddha (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Brief description
Painting, Usha examines portraits, Aniruddha Usha illustration, opaque watercolour on paper, Kangra, ca. 1820
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Usha examines the portraits of the great personages of the universe in order to identify the young man with whom she has fallen in love in a dream. She is seated in a room attended by a maid and her sakhi companion), who hands her the portraits, including one of Balarama. Outside in the courtyard Usha is again shown, in conversation with her sakhi, while her friend Chitralekha, who painted the portraits, appears flying through the air to fetch Anirudha, following the discovery that he was the subject of Usha's dream. Illustration from an Aniruddha Usha series. The painting is surrounded by a dark blue band and an outer border of pink, flecked with a red stipple.
Dimensions
  • Height: 195mm
  • Width: 274mm
  • Image within innermost painted borders height: 151mm
  • Image within innermost painted borders width: 231mm
05/06/2013 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013
Content description
Usha examines the portraits of the great personages of the universe in order to identify the young man with whom she has fallen in love in a dream. She is seated in a room attended by a maid and her sakhi, who hands her the portraits, including one of Balarama. Outside in the courtyard Usha is again shown, in conversation with her sakhi, while her friend Chitralekha, who painted the portraits, appears flying through the air to fetch Anirudha, following the discovery that he was the subject of Usha's dream.
Style
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Indian paintings from the Punjab Hills : a survey and history of Pahari miniature painting / by W. G. Archer ; foreword by Sherman E. Lee. London :Delhi: Sotheby Parke Bernet ;Oxford University Press, 1973 Number: 0856670022 p. 305, cat. no. 62.
Collection
Accession number
IS.11-1968

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Record createdOctober 31, 2002
Record URL
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