Three South Indian couples
1830
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1830
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Three South Indian couples is a 1830 paint by Unknown, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows three couples, each with distinct clothing and accessories. They appear to be religious mendicants, with one man carrying pots on his head. The couples are holding small drums and other items. The man with the pots is a devotee of a goddess of infectious diseases. His wife and the other couples seem to be part of a specific religious group. To learn more about the style and lighting used in this painting, look into the technique of chiaroscuro.
The image depicts three couples of religious mendicants from South India, part of a volume of thirty folios illustrating castes, occupations, cultivation methods, and processions. One man carries pots of holy basil, associated with the goddess Shitala or Mariyamma, while his wife holds a pellet drum; their identifying inscription is in Tamil. Another couple includes a woman in a dark blue sari holding a shrine with a figure of Bhairava (Shiva), and her husband playing a long drum; their inscription is in Telugu. The third couple features a man with a stick, bowl, and razor, accompanied by his…
Read the full account in the museum source.
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