Artwork
The Hook-swinging Festival (Chadak parvan)
The Hook-swinging Festival (Chadak parvan) is a paint painting by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1798 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
The Hook-swinging Festival (Chadak parvan) is a painting created by an Indian artist in the Company painting style, which emerged as a result of Indian artists working for British patrons in India.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the charak pûjâ, a Bengali festival of penance, where devotees fast for a month and then participate in a ritual involving swinging from bamboo poles tied with ropes as a test of faith and endurance.
Technique & Style
The work is characteristic of Company paintings, which blended Indian and European artistic influences. It shows a crowded scene with figures swinging on bamboo stages, highlighting the artist's ability to capture a dynamic and complex ritual.
Context
The charak pûjâ festival involves a month-long fast for participants, who then engage in the hook-swinging ritual, demonstrating their devotion and physical endurance in a public display.
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
