Rama and Sita enthroned with Lakshmana and Hanuman attending, from a Kalighat album (c. 1890): Art, History and Details

Rama and Sita enthroned with Lakshmana and Hanuman attending, from a Kalighat album (c. 1890) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Rama and Sita sit enthroned under a royal parasol held by Rama’s brother Lakshmana. A diminutive Hanuman kneels before them in adoration. The stunning mix of vibrant color animates the otherwise static scene. The local Indian artists who created inexpensive paintings for visitors to the temple at Kalighat were accustomed to creating rapid watercolor paintings with collapsed perspectives and flat backgrounds. Since their workshops were near the British colonial capital of Calcutta (now Kolkata), they were aware of British fashions, such as the Prince Albert mustache.

Object facts

• Title: Rama and Sita enthroned with Lakshmana and Hanuman attending, from a Kalighat album
• Date: c. 1890
• Culture: Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, graphite, tin, and ink on paper
• Dimensions: Painting: 45.5 x 27.5 cm (17 15/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2003.152

A detail from the museum

Rama wields the divine bow of Vishnu, which is why he is shown with an arrow in his right hand.

Collection credit

Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.