Karttikeya
1900
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1900
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Karttikeya is a 1900 paint by Kali Charan Ghosh, a Post-Impressionism work, depicting Kalighat, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows Karttikeya, a Hindu war god, standing on a peacock with four arms. His blue skin glows against a gold halo and dark background. The peacock’s feathers fan out in bright blues and greens. The artist used thin, layered paint to build depth in the colors. This gives the skin and feathers a soft, glowing look. The gold halo feels almost real, like metal pressed into the paint. Look up Ghosh, Kali Charan to see more of his work.
Kali Charan Ghosh’s 1900 watercolour on paper depicts Karttikeya, the Hindu god of war and son of Shiva and Parvati, riding a peacock. The work is a Kalighat painting, a style that emerged in 19th-century Calcutta among artists who migrated from rural Bengal and produced works reflecting local mythology, customs, and colonial-era themes. Kalighat paintings are known for their vivid colours, simplified forms, and rapid brushwork. The painting was acquired in 1932 at Kalighat from the artist’s family.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Indian artist Kali Charan Ghosh painted Karttikeya around 1900, a figure from Hindu mythology often shown with a peacock and a spear.
See the richer artist page
