Artwork
Elokeshi and Madhavchandra Giri (the Mahant)
Elokeshi and Madhavchandra Giri (the Mahant) is a paint painting by the Impressionist artist Unknown. It dates from 1880 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
The work is a water‑colour and tin‑alloy painting on paper belonging to the Kalighat school, a genre noted for its brisk brushwork and bright palette. It portrays a domestic interior in which a woman, Elokeshi, sits in a chair while a male figure, the Mahant, stands behind her, fanning her with a handheld fan.
Subject & Meaning
The scene references the Tarakeshwar affair, a 19th‑century scandal that linked Elokeshi, the wife of a clerk, with the priest of the Tarakeshwar Shiva temple. The artist emphasizes the sweltering atmosphere, suggesting the rising tension between the two characters, while a small, reflective mirror held by the woman adds a symbolic note of self‑examination.
Technique & Style
Executed in the characteristic Kalighat manner, the painting employs bold outlines and flat, saturated colours. The figures are rendered with stylised, exaggerated facial features that lend a near‑cartoon quality. Background details are minimal, focusing attention on the vivid costumes—a red‑yellow ensemble with a dark shawl for the woman, and a light wrap with a green cloth for the man.
History & Provenance
Created within the Kalighat tradition that flourished in the environs of Kolkata’s Kalighat temple, the piece reflects the genre’s rapid production for a growing urban market. Its provenance traces back to private collections that documented the Tarakeshwar affair, though specific ownership records remain limited.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
