Artwork
Battle Scene at Kurukshetra from the Mahabharata War (verso), from a Kalighat album
Battle Scene at Kurukshetra from the Mahabharata War (verso), from a Kalighat album is an unspecified painting by the Patna School of Painting artist Shri Gobinda Chandra Roy. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1890 by Shri Gobinda Chandra Roy, this watercolor on paper depicts a frenzied episode from the Mahabharata’s Kurukshetra war. The work belongs to the Kalighat school of painting and is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. Its composition is densely populated, with combatants, flying warriors, and architectural elements filling the picture plane.
Subject & Meaning
The inclusion of elephants, horses, and temple‑like structures reinforces the narrative’s mythic scale and the cultural importance of the battle.
The scene illustrates a moment of intense combat from the Hindu epic, focusing on the clash between opposing armies. Red‑capped soldiers in patterned armor confront each other, while airborne figures wield swords, suggesting divine or heroic intervention. The inclusion of elephants, horses, and temple‑like structures reinforces the narrative’s mythic scale and the cultural importance of the battle.
Technique & Style
Executed with flat, vivid pigments and strong black outlines, the painting employs simplified geometric forms to convey motion. The lack of chiaroscuro and the use of bright, uniform colors are hallmarks of Kalighat art, a genre that favored rapid, expressive rendering of popular subjects for a broad audience.
History & Provenance
Attributed to the Kolkata‑based artist Shri Gobinda Chandra Roy, the work emerged from a Kalighat album—a portable collection of prints sold to travelers and locals in the late nineteenth century. It entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the twentieth century, where it remains displayed as an example of colonial‑era Indian popular painting.
Artist & collection
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