Nala and Damayanti
1885
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1885
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Nala and Damayanti is a 1885 paint by Unknown, a Impressionism work, depicting Kalighat, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows two figures lying down on a red and orange couch. The person on the left is sitting up, wearing a yellow sari with black outlines and gold jewelry. The other person is reclining, dressed in a similar style. Behind them, two small trees and a floating figure appear in the background, with a pale yellow sky. The bold outlines and flat colors suggest this is part of the *kalighat* style, a traditional Indian folk-art tradition. Look up kalighat to see more paintings like this.
Nala and Damayanti is a painting created in 1885 using opaque watercolour on paper. It depicts the scene where Nala, preparing to divide Damayanti's clothing while she sleeps, has lost his garments to birds due to his misfortunes. The work is part of a series illustrating the legend of Nala and Damayanti from the Indian epic Mahabharata. The painting was acquired by the museum from Miss M. Steele in 1950, having been part of a collection inherited from her mother, a Sanskrit scholar at Cambridge in 1894.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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