Untitled (Muralidhar Krishna)

The term 'Kalighat pat' is used to describe the school of watercolour painting that developed in nineteenth-century Calcutta. It is so called because many studio-shops emerged in the market around the Kalighat Kali temple. As they were painted on, mass-produced mill paper, most were of standard sizes, quite unlike the three exceptionally large works shown on this and subsequent pages. Here, each sheet was created by gluing multiple pieces of of paper onto a fabric backing that allowed for a large enough surface area. 

This painting depicts Krishna as the flute playing Muralidhar. The deity is shown standing on a lotus flower with his feet crossed in the trribhanga pose, wearing a yellow dhoti emblematic of spring, and a red cape as a sign of his fertile youthfulness.