Krishna
Painting
ca. 1885 (made)
ca. 1885 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Krishna, painted blue, milking a cow.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Krishna (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Krishna milking a cow, opaque watercolour on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1885 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, Krishna, painted blue, milking a cow. |
| Content description | Krishna, painted blue, milking a cow. |
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (handwritten on object)
|
| Gallery label | The Kalighat artists translated scenes from Hindu mythology into their own popular style developing many stock images, of which this is one. This image of Krishna milking a cow refers to his early childhood as a cowherd. However, this painting is also slightly unusual in that whereas most Kalighat paintings have white backgrounds this is one of a small number which have painted blue backgrounds.(January 2005) |
| Object history | Acquired from Miss M Steele, being part of the collection inherited from her mother, a scholar in Sanskrit at Cambridge in 1894. When delivering the pictures, Miss Steele reported that her grandmother had also lived in India for some time and that it was possible that the pictures were originally collected by her. |
| Historical context | Calcutta was recognised as the Capital of British India from 1833-1912.By the 1830s, artists had arrived from rural villages in Bengal and began to produce paintings that reflected local history, mythology, customs and conflicts of a colonised society. As a popular art form, these artists are recognised for their use of brilliant colour, simplified images and swift brushstrokes that became the hallmark of Kalighat painting in the 19th and early 20th century. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.537-1950 |
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| Record created | February 8, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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