Artwork
Kurma
Kurma is a paint painting by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1825 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Kurma is a 1825 painting from South India, depicting a Hindu deity. It is one of a series of 100 drawings created by an unknown artist.
Subject & Meaning
The painting represents Kurma, the second avatar of Vishnu, shown as a man-tortoise figure. Kurma is associated with retrieving the water of life from the Asuras, a mythological event.
Technique & Style
The figure is rendered in bright colors with detailed patterns, set against a plain background. The blue-skinned deity wears ornate jewelry and clothing, including a striped orange and yellow skirt and purple and gold scarves.
History & Provenance
The painting is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collection, originating from a series of drawings created in South India in 1825.
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
Varaha
Vamana
Krishna Holding a Flute and Dancing on a Lotus
Vishnu in his form as Pandharinatha or Vithoba worshipped at Pandharpur (Maharashtra)
Krishna dancing on the serpent Kaliya.
Vishnu
Rama holding a bow and a crescent tipped arrow
Matsya
Hari-hara, the union of Vishnu and Shiva
Vishnu seated in his heaven, Vaikuntha, upon the coils of the serpent of eternity, Ananta.
Kurma
Narasimha, the man-lion, the fourth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu