Kaikeyi, Rama and Lakshmana
1890
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1890
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Kaikeyi, Rama and Lakshmana is a 1890 paint by Unknown, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
A woman in bright yellow and red sits cross-legged, holding two small boys. Her face is flat and bold, with heavy black outlines. The boys wear simple clothes—one in blue, the other in pale yellow. The woman’s headscarf is dark purple with tiny dots, and her dress has red and purple stripes. The background is plain, focusing all attention on the figures. The painting looks like it was made around 1890, blending bright colors with clear outlines. The style mixes two art movements: Impressionism’s loose brushwork and Realism’s focus on everyday scenes. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this.
A watercolour and tin alloy painting on paper from 1890 depicts Kaikeyi, Rama’s stepmother, holding Rama and Lakshmana in her arms. The work reflects the Kalighat style, characterized by bold colours, simplified forms, and quick brushwork. It belongs to a tradition of Bengali artists who, from the 1830s onward, produced narrative works addressing local mythology and social themes during the colonial period. The piece is part of a broader output created in Calcutta, then the capital of British India.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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