Vishnu as Matsya
1860
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1860
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Vishnu as Matsya is a 1860 paint by Unknown, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a blue-skinned figure with a golden crown and a long sword, standing on a giant fish. The figure holds a disc and a conch shell, while a group of people in a boat watches from the background. The fish looks like it’s rising from the water, and the scene has bright yellow and white colors against a cloudy sky. The figure is likely a god from Hindu stories, based on the symbols and the fish. The painting uses bold outlines and flat colors, which makes the scene feel dramatic and clear. If you like this style, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more works like it.
The painting depicts Vishnu’s fish incarnation, Matsya, rendered in opaque watercolor on paper as part of a Vishnu Avatara series. Vishnu, crowned and dressed in a brocaded yellow garment, emerges from the mouth of a saphari fish, two of his four arms holding the Vedas recovered from the horse-headed demon Hayagriva, while a shell and pink lotus are tucked into his belt. A white snake tied around a horn on the fish’s head forms a rope tethering it to a boat, where Manu and the seven sages stand amid grey, swirling floodwaters. Below, the dead body of Hayagriva, still clutching a sword, floats…
Read the full account in the museum source.
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