Vamana and Bali
1890
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1890
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Vamana and Bali is a 1890 paint by Unknown, a Impressionism work, depicting Kalighat, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a blue-skinned figure with four arms standing over a smaller person. The big figure wears a yellow skirt with red stripes, a red cape, and a jewel-studded crown. The smaller figure kneels in front, dressed in green and red, holding something in their hands. The bright colors and bold outlines are typical of *kalighat* paintings, a style from 19th-century India. Look up kalighat next to see more paintings like this.
A watercolour and tin-alloy painting on paper depicts Vamana striding over the kneeling figure of Bali. The work was donated by M N Varvill, Esq. in 1955. It reflects a Kalighat style, characterized by bold colours, simplified forms, and rapid brushwork, which emerged in 19th-century Calcutta among artists from rural Bengal. The painting belongs to a broader tradition of works that addressed local mythology, history, and colonial-era themes.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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