Artwork
Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra
Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra is a paint painting by the Rococo painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1775 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
The work is an opaque watercolour painting on paper, dated to 1775, that presents the Hindu deities Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra within a temple interior. The figures are positioned beneath a white dome supported by three arches, and the composition is bounded by a red ornamental border. Two attendant devotees holding fly‑whisks flank the central trio, completing the ritual scene.
Subject & Meaning
Jagannatha, the dark‑skinned god with blue accents, is shown with his sister Subhadra, dressed in pink, and his brother Balabhadra, depicted as a child. The presence of the fly‑whisk‑bearing devotees and the small tables bearing pots suggests an offering or ceremonial observance, reflecting the devotional practices associated with the Jagannath cult.
Technique & Style
Executed in opaque watercolour, the painting employs flat, vivid colour fields and simplified forms that give it a stylised, almost decorative quality. The use of bright oranges, pinks and blues against a gold‑toned canopy highlights the figures, while the red border frames the scene in a manner typical of 18th‑century Indian courtly art.
History & Provenance
The artist of the piece remains unidentified. The painting entered the museum collection through a purchase from the London antiquarian dealers Maggs Bros., recorded under the catalogue reference IS.10 to 18‑1954. Its 1775 date places it within the late pre‑colonial period of Indian visual culture.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
