Abhisarika
Kalighat Painting
2009 (painted)
2009 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This Kalighat painting takes on the theme of secret lovers' trysts at night, as exemplified by the Mughal and Rajput tradition of miniature painting. Abhisarika. meaning 'fearless', would signify a heroine who braved the dangers of the night to meet her lover, personifying the theme of romantic love. The lady in this painting is clearly going see her lover, who is possibly concealed in the shadowy car in the background. Her mobile phone, while shedding light in the dark, also hints at the opportunities provided for modern illicit affairs through the medium of text messaging and private phone calls. The spying face at the window implies that no affair is kept secret for long and that someone always finds out.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Abhisarika (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Kalighat painting 'Abhisarika', by Kalam Patua, Birbhum district, West Bengal, 2009. |
| Physical description | The female figure in the painting is dressed in the traditional draped sari of a bengali woman, painted in Kalam Patua's distinctive style of pastel lilac shades with a black border. Although the palette used is subtle, there is a marked contrast between the deep background blue of the night and the bright light given off by her mobile phone, created by clever use of dark and light colouring. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | This Kalighat painting takes on the theme of secret lovers' trysts at night, as exemplified by the Mughal and Rajput tradition of miniature painting. Abhisarika. meaning 'fearless', would signify a heroine who braved the dangers of the night to meet her lover, personifying the theme of romantic love. The lady in this painting is clearly going see her lover, who is possibly concealed in the shadowy car in the background. Her mobile phone, while shedding light in the dark, also hints at the opportunities provided for modern illicit affairs through the medium of text messaging and private phone calls. The spying face at the window implies that no affair is kept secret for long and that someone always finds out. (October 2011 - May 2012) |
| Summary | This Kalighat painting takes on the theme of secret lovers' trysts at night, as exemplified by the Mughal and Rajput tradition of miniature painting. Abhisarika. meaning 'fearless', would signify a heroine who braved the dangers of the night to meet her lover, personifying the theme of romantic love. The lady in this painting is clearly going see her lover, who is possibly concealed in the shadowy car in the background. Her mobile phone, while shedding light in the dark, also hints at the opportunities provided for modern illicit affairs through the medium of text messaging and private phone calls. The spying face at the window implies that no affair is kept secret for long and that someone always finds out. |
| 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.108 cat.no 99 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.53-2011 |
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| Record created | November 18, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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