The Goddess Kali

Currently not on view

The Goddess Kali

c. 1820

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Kali, the fierce Dark Goddess, holds the severed head of a demon and brandishes a sword that destroys ignorance and evil. Consort of the god Shiva, who emerges from the corpse under her feet, Kali performs a wild dance that is a metaphor for regeneration after extinction. Although the painting's subject is horrific, its gentle pastel colors and delicate detailing are typical of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century court painting from the Himalayan foothills, a type of painting that influenced artists of the Bengal School.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

The Goddess Kali

Date:

c. 1820

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 8 11/16 × 6 13/16 inches (22.1 × 17.3 cm) Sheet: 10 3/8 × 8 3/8 inches (26.4 × 21.3 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994

Accession Number:

1994-148-493

Geography:

Made in Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia Probably made in Guler, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia

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Currently not on view