Kalighat Painting

カーリーガート絵画 / 19th century–1930s / Style / Persian and Indian Painting

Pilgrims bought these paintings by the sheet at the temple gates of Calcutta, where thick contours and bold omission rendered gods and social satire in the same hand.

Kalighat Painting — Kalighat painting, 19th century — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 — Kalighat painting, 19th century — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0

Kalighat Painting — The Three Strides of Vishnu, 19th century — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 — The Three Strides of Vishnu, 19th century — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0

At a glance

Visual cues

Thick fluent contours
Bold omission
Watercolor transparency
Gods beside satire

Best used for

Work needing figures built from few lines, printed cheap and fast
Satirical illustration that mocks authority in a familiar, friendly hand

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Dictionary entry

Type: Hand-lettered captions in the margin, stroke weight matched to the figure
Composition: No background, one or two large figures, the rest left white
Material: Thick contours drawn in one motion, thin washes modeling inside
Caution: Neatening the contour and adding modeling kills the speed of the omission, and the momentum of a mass-made sheet turns into mere naivety.
Further study: The Kalighat temple market / the influence on Jamini Roy / colonial social satire

Related entries

Madhubani (ミティラー画（マドゥバニ）)Same Persian and Indian Painting lineage.Compare Kalighat Painting and Madhubani
Mughal Miniature (ムガル細密画)Same Persian and Indian Painting lineage.Compare Kalighat Painting and Mughal Miniature

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