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Rama and Sita enthroned with Lakshmana and Hanuman attending, from a Kalighat album

c. 1890

Medium: Gum tempera, graphite, tin, and ink on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Painting: 45.5 x 27.5 cm (17 15/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Culture: Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this 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.