Durga and Mahishasura
1830
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1830
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Durga and Mahishasura is a 1830 paint by Unknown, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a wild battle between two figures. One is a fierce-looking woman with multiple arms, riding a tiger. The other is a horned monster on a giant buffalo, swinging a weapon. The sky is bright blue with fluffy white clouds, and the ground is green with trees in the distance. The colors are bold—reds, blues, and golds—with lots of patterns on the clothing. The woman’s many arms suggest she’s a powerful goddess, while the monster looks like a demon. The tiger and buffalo add to the drama, making it feel like a mythical fight. Look up Romanticism to see how this painting fits into that artistic movement.
The painting depicts the goddess Durga in an opaque watercolor on paper, rendered in the Harkhu style from 1830. She wears a gold dress with a crimson skirt edged in gold and an orange veil, standing atop the buffalo demon Mahishasura while her tiger attacks his severed head. Previously held in the Rothenstein Collection, the work is cataloged in *Devi: The Great Goddess: Female Divinity in South Asian Art*.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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