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Bikhya and Chandrahasa

Unknown

1760

paint

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Rococo painting Romanticism 18th Century

Dominant colour

Bikhya and Chandrahasa is a 1760 paint by Unknown, a Rococo painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1760 · Rococo painting
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting shows two scenes side by side. On the left, a man lies on a red blanket under a tree while another man stands nearby. A horse stands close by, and birds swim in a pond below. The colors are bright—yellows, greens, and reds stand out against a dark background. Above this scene, a group of people in colorful robes gathers near a building with a dome. The text around the images is in an unfamiliar script, likely part of the story. This style comes from the Romanticism movement.

The story of this work

Overview

The painting, rendered in opaque watercolour on paper around 1760, depicts a scene in which the woman Bikhya discovers Chandrahasa asleep and, upon reading the letter he carries to his brother, alters its contents from an order to poison Chandrahasa to a directive to marry him to her.

Read the full account in the museum source.