A Kalighat painting, watercolour and tin alloy on paper, ca. 1890, from Kolkata, showing Rama and Lakshmana fighting the demon Viravahu, with a handwritten Bengali inscription naming the battle. Held today by the Victoria and Albert Museum under museum number IS.32-1959, South and South East Asia Collection.
Facts
Subject Matter
Devotional FunctionKalighat painting itself emerged in the nineteenth century in the streets around the Kalighat Kali temple in Kolkata, where artists worked quickly in watercolour on cheap mill made paper to sell inexpensive souvenirs to temple pilgrims; the loose, economical brushwork that trade demanded became its own recognized style, distinct from the slower, courtly miniature traditions that painted the same Hindu epic scenes. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Bengali directly: "the demon Viravahu, with a handwritten Bengali inscription naming the battle."
This source names Kolkata directly: "1890, from Kolkata, showing Rama and Lakshmana fighting the demon Viravahu, with a handwritten Bengali inscription naming the battle."
Belongs to Tradition
Depicts
The V&A's own title and description name Lakshmana directly, fighting the demon Viravahu alongside his brother Rama, a Kalighat painting from Kolkata, ca. 1890.
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