Lord Skanda-Murugan
 

Karttikeya, opaque watercolor on paper

Karttikeya 19th Century Bengali watercolor

Opaque watercolor on paper

Bengal (Calcutta, Kalighat), 1870-85 Folk and Village Painting

Around 1830, local bazaar artists operating souvenir stalls and booths around Calcutta's great Kali temple began to produce bold, highly simplified folk paintings of Hindu deities and scenes of everyday Bengali life. Pilgrims to the shrine bought these pictures, known as "Kalighat" paintings.

This representation of Karttikeya -- Shiva's eternally young son, the god of war and the possessor of transcendental knowledge -- is a typical Kalighat work. Karttikeya, yellow-skinned and bare-chested, rides his peacock mount, represented in frontal view. The precise outlines, rounded contours, and figural distortions of the Kalighat idiom are a completely local style, but the shading and the use of large sheets of paper reflect European influence.

Courtesy: Worlds of Wonder and Desire: Online Exhibition

Other articles about Kaumara Iconography and Art History:

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  • "Trimurti in Medieval South India"
  • "Iconography of Somaskanda"
  • "Palani Andavar idol: a scientific study"
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  • "Kinetic Iconography of Murukan"
  • The Iconography of Goddess Kaumārī
  • "Painting of Murugan, Subrahmanya or Karthikeyan"
  • Soma Skanda: Royal and Divine
  • "Significance of Kaumara Icons"
  • "Mailam Murukan temple"
  • "7th cent. Murukan image discovered"
  • "Vallakkottai Murukan Temple"
  • "Karttikeya images of ancient Java"
  • "Skanda images in ancient Cambodia"
  • "17 Iconographical aspects of Subrahmanya"
  • 19th Century Bengali watercolor of Karttikeya
  • Skanda upon Peacock, 11th-12th Cent Chola granite
  • Kārttikeya-Murugan water color painting
  • Galleries of Kaumara Iconography

  • Gallery One: Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam
  • Gallery Two: 1920's - 40's collection
  • Gallery Three: early to late 20th century
  • Gallery Four: 1930-50 lithographs
  • Aru Padai Veedu paintings
  • Paintings of famous temple moolavars