#kalighat paintings

[randomx123]

Remember that Bangali Kaku Surya plan we had?

So I tried to draw Surya and Ushas in the Kalighat Painting Style....

Ig he's going to his shoshur bari for Jamai Shoshti lol...

And I tried to add some sun details in his punjabi but it just turned out bad kinda also the Elish looks so demonic

Reference

This looks really pretty! Also, did you use glitter pen for Ushas' jewellery?

Hey, they're Devtas. We mortal Bangalis are planning a Panini-level instruction manual for cooking Leviathan and Timingila and all. So imagine what They'd cook...

[zeherili-ankhein]

Love how it looks like Hayagriva was just having a bad day

The avatar Narasimha, ca. 1870s

Via: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/857030

[artlifegallery]

Kalighat painting, an extraordinary style of Indian folk art, originated in the 19th century within the vibrant Kalighat area of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal, India. It emerged during a period of profound social and cultural change in colonial India, and quickly gained popularity as a unique and expressive form of artistic expression.

[mrinalmajumder]

“BABU AND BIBI 2” (MR AND MRS), a painting in Watercolour done by me on A3 Bockingford 300 gsm Watercolour paper. This painting is an inspiration from the Kalighat style of painting after Anwar Chitrakar. ABOUT KALIGHAT PAINTING The painters of this style of painting are known as Patua’s or Chitrakars. The themes they covered were the characters from mythology and during the 19th century, they covered subjects like contemporary lifestyles, and social issues with a hint of wit. In this painting, a Bengali couple is seated and enjoying a warm afternoon. Kalighat painting was the first artistic expression of a subaltern culture in the Indian sub-continent that addressed the consumer directly; it was neither directed by nor produced for the capital or the ruling authority.

[1five1two]

Kalighat painting of Vishnu as Matsya. Calcutta. c. 1860.

[talonabraxas]

“Om Krim Kali”

Kali is one of the many forms of Shakti. Maha Kaali is the fiercest of all goddesses of Hinduism. The word Kali has its roots in the Sanskrit word “Kaal”, which means time. And nothing escapes from time. Goddess Kali is sometimes referred as the goddess of death. But actually Kali brings the death of the ego. Even in the scriptures, she has killed demons but not anyone else. Kali is also not associated with Yama (the Hindu God of Death). Kali is considered a form of mother too.

Maha Kali by Talon Abraxas

Kalighat painting is a school of painting in Kalighat, a small district in Calcutta. It is named after the celebrated Hindu goddess Kali.

[paneerlajwanti]

films division, internet archive, wikimedia my beloved

Kaliya Mardan, the Childhood of Krishna, 1919

Devdas, 1936

Feminine Fashions of India, 1953

Bharatanatyam, 1956

Kathak, 1970

Destination Bombay, 1976

Kalighat Paintings of India, 1980

Glimpses of Indian Animation, 1997

Sita Sings the Blues, 2008

[arthistoryanimalia]

#FishFriday 🐟:

Kaligat painting of a fish and a crustacean (cataloged as “A Lobster and a Fish”) by an unknown Indian artist, 19th c.? gouache on paper, H 28 x W 45 cm Wellcome Collection 583056i, via Art UK

“Kalighat painting is a school of painting in Kalighat, a small district in Calcutta. It is named after the celebrated Hindu goddess Kali. Kalighat painting originated from the folk art tradition of rural Bengal. The Patuas or picture makers had migrated from Bengal in the early nineteenth century. There are a range of subjects, from religious imagery of Hindu gods, goddesses and stories to natural history, social types and proverbs. The range of materials used in drawings are pencil, watercolour, Indian ink and silver paint.”

[randomx123]

Kalighat paintings are so weird I just found this painting of a woman and her paltu kutta with a man's head on Pinterest rn

I think this represents controlling her husband?

Also, I've always wanted to try this artstyle

[premakalidasi]

Krishna as Kali, worshipped by Radha.

"Krishna as Kali worshipped by Radha (recto), from a Kalighat album, c. 1890. Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat. Gum tempera, graphite, and ink on paper; secondary support: 48.1 x 29.7 cm (18 15/16 x 11 11/16 in.); painting only: 25.4 x 20.4 cm (10 x 8 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.113.a

Krishna’s cowgirl (gopi) Radha was Ayanaghosha’s wife, and her devotion to him transcended marital ties. Whenever Radha was together with Krishna and her husband appeared, Krishna instantly transformed himself into Kali and Radha into her devotee. Radha, a model devotee, symbolizes the human soul and its longing for god. Her willingness to break the rules of duty (dharma) exemplifies her devotion."

(Via)

[vintage-tigre]

'Tiger Woman'

(Kalighat painting). By Kalam Patua

[mybeingthere]

A woman pulling giant aubergines from a tree. Watercolour.

Notes

Kalighat painting is a school of painting in Kalighat, a small district in Calcutta. It is named after the celebrated Hindu goddess Kali. Kalighat painting originated from the folkart tradition of rural Bengal. The Patuas or picture makers had migrated from Bengal in the early nineteenth century. There are a range of subjects from religious imagery of Hindu gods, goddesses and stories to natural history, social types and proverbs. The range of materials used in drawing are pencil, watercolour, indian ink and silver paint

Wellcome Library no. 26113i

Exhibited in “Ayurvedic Man: Encounters with Indian medicine” at Wellcome Collection, 16 November 2017 – 8 April 2018

[hariyali]

Resource Masterlist: Indian Art

Cheap/Free resources:

Wkipedia:

Wikipedia of Indian Art: I'll recommend reading the subtopics from bottom up; it seems more relevant that way!

Wikipedia of Indian Painting: once you go through this article you should further look into whichever style you like, and learn it in depth. It also has links to vernacular art.

Rasa: the classical theory of Indian aesthetics

From Archive.Org (maybe scholarly and/or illustrative. In case illustrations are not there, simply Google them for reference):

Stone Age Painting in India by Romert Brooks

The arts of India from prehistoric to modern times by Ajit Mookerji (If you have no idea about Indian arts, START HERE; it's a short book full of illustrations)

Rajput painting : romantic, divine and courtly art from India by Ahluwalia, Roda

Indian Painting by C Sivaramamurti

South Indian Paintings by C Sivaramamurti

Approach to nature in Indian art and thought by C Sivaramamurti

[There are many books on Indian art, architecture and sculpture by C Sivaramamurti on Archive.org. It's basically a goldmine.]

Kalighat : Indian popular painting, 1800-1930 by Balraj Khanna

Art of modern India by Balrak Khanna [Again, you can check out other titles by Khanna.]

Indian Textiles by John Gillow

Traditional Indian Textiles by John Gillow

South-Indian images of gods and goddesses by HK Sastri

Myths and symbols in Indian art and civilization by Heinrich Zimmer (no illustrations)

The art of Indian Asia, its mythology and transformations by Heinrich Zimmer (with illustrations)

History of Indian and Indonesian art by Ananda Coomaraswamy

A Concise History of Indian Art by Roy C Craven

Deccani Painting by Mark Zebrowski

Indian Folk Art by Heinz Mode; Subodh Chandra

Women of India by Otto Rothfeld (this isn't about art but has few informative illustrations on regional costumes of women)

Dress And Ornaments In Ancient India by Mohini Verma and Keya Bawa

Classical dances and costumes of India by Ambrose, Kay

Cultures and Costumes of India and Sri Lanka by Kilgallon, Conor (o course i had to see other books on costumes)

Studies In Indian Painting by DB Taraporevala

Five Thousand Years of Indian Art by Hermann Goetz

Indian Painiting by Philip Rawson

The Art of Tantra by Philip Rawson

MS Randhawa (different books on Punjabi paintings Basohli, Kangra, Guler and General Themes in Indian Painting)

The imperial image: paintings for the Mughal court by Beach, Milo Cleveland

Wonders of nature : Ustad Mansur at the Mughal court by Dāśa, Aśoka Kumāra

Imperial mughal painting by Welch, Stuart Cary

Painted delight : Indian paintings from Philadelphia collections

India : life, myth and art by Ram-Prasad, Chakravarthi

The heritage of Indian art by Agrawala, Vasudeva Sharana

The adventures of Rama : with illustrations from a sixteenth-century Mughal manuscript

Indian paintings from the Punjab Hills by WG Archer

Art in East and West by Rowland Benjamin

Stella Kramisch (An American art historian and curator who was a leading specialist on Indian art, including folk art, for most of the 20th century. Also a Padma Bhushan awardee.)

The transformation of nature in art by Coomaraswamy, Ananda K

Books available on Libgen:

Art Of Ancient India : Buddhist, Hindu, Jain by Huntington and Huntington

The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 1, Part 3: Mughal and Rajput Painting

Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization by Heinrich Zimmer

Four Centuries of Rajput Painting: Mewar, Marwar and Dhundhar Indian Miniatures from the Collection of Isabelle and Vicky Ducrot

Ajanta by Yazdani

The Aesthetic Experience Acording to Abhinavagupta

TheHeritageLab is a free website to connect you to cultural heritage through stories, public engagement programs, campaigns, and free-access content.

Also if you're in Delhi, do consider getting a membership of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) library.

Folk art:

Folk art is an entirely different area that deserve a post of its own. But i love them so here is a long list by Memeraki.com. You can Google each and then look more into what you like. This website also offers very cheap courses in traditional Indian arts by the hidden and disenfranchised masters themselves! It's doing a great work in giving them a platorm. I myself have taken the Mughal Miniature course here. You can consider it.

Illustrated Books:

Note: These are coffee table books with beautiful illustrations that you'd love to looks at.

The Night Life of Trees: In the belief of the Gond tribe, the lives of humans and trees are closely entwined. A visual ode to trees rendered by tribal artists from India, this handcrafted edition showcases three of the finest living Gond masters. THIS YOUTUBE LINK shows the making of the book. The channel also features other works of Gond art.

An Unknown Treasure in Rajasthan: The Bundi Wall-Paintings:  This book celebrates the surviving wall-paintings at Bundi by presenting a stunning photographic survey

Painting In the Kangra Valley: Painting in the Kangra Valley is an attempt to survey the painting styles of Guler and Kangra, which flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The painting activity began with Kashmiri painters (...)

Indian Painting: The Lesser Known Traditions: India has an astonishingly rich variety of painting traditions. While miniature painting schools became virtually extinct with the decline of aristocratic patronage, a number of local vernacular idioms still survive and continue to develop.

Madhubani Art: Indian Art Series: Madhubani art's origin is believed to go back to the ancient era of the Ramayana, when the town was decorated by inhabitants of the region for the wedding of Lord Rama and Sita with elaborate wall paintings and murals (...) Primarily a significant socio-cultural engagement for the womenfolk of Bihar, this art was a welcome break from their daily drudgery.

Reflections on Mughal Art and Culture: Enter the splendid world of Mughal India and explore its rich aesthetic and cultural legacy through fresh insights offered by 13 eminent scholars.

Monsoon Feelings: A History of Emotions in the Rain: Through a series of evocative essays exploring rain-drenched worlds of poetry, songs, paintings, architecture, films, gardens, festivals, music and medicine, this lavishly illustrated collection examines the history of monsoon feelings in South Asia from the twelfth century to the present

Sita's Ramayana shifts the point of view of the Ramayana - the saga of a heroic war - to bring a woman's perspective to this timeless epic. Illustrated with Patua painting.

Adi Parva: Churning of the Ocean: a graphic novel that is a revisionist retelling of some of our oldest tales which have inspired and guided generations of people.

Ajit Mookerji, Sivaramamurti and Craven Roy's books are concise from where one can begin and then delve deeper into the subject of interest. Reading history and myths behind the work for context and listening to music from the given time/region alongside will make the exploration even more enjoyable!

[begottaum]

Lakshmi and Uluka, Kalighat painting, Hasir Chitrakar, Me Meraki

[mahgnib]

Kalighat painting of a tabla player, West Bengal

[whispersoflullaby]

And I was just so out of touch from Tumblr for God knows what reasons! But now that I am back I wanted to share few Ppt from the DAG presentation that happened in our University. I hope it will intrigue someone. Each of these pictures seemed very thought provoking to me. The first two slides very much reminds me of gender queerness and also the exploration of solitude. The third ppt is that of battola and kalighat painting, please look it up. It's very interesting and the fourth and fifth one is that of feline motif🌻💅😭