Unknown Kalighat painter
Trivikrama (The Three Steps of Vishnu)
Vishnu takes his second step; a king looks up.
- Artist
- Unknown Kalighat painter
- Date
- c. 1890, Calcutta
- Medium
- Gum tempera, graphite, ink and tin on paper
- Where it is
- Cleveland Museum of Art (2003.165)
- Kind
- Kalighat painting
A blue, many-armed Vishnu kicks one leg high over his head. At his feet a small figure holds on to his other leg. Someone has written in English pencil along the ground: “The Dwarf Incarnation”.
The story is Vamana’s. Vishnu, born as a dwarf, won back the three worlds from the king Bali by taking three steps. This is the moment of the stride; Trivikrama, his other name, means three steps.
Kalighat painters worked near the Kali temple in Calcutta and sold to pilgrims, so they painted gods quickly and in bulk: bold outlines, a plain ground, a few strong colours. Machine-made paper and, later, factory-made British watercolours helped. The museum lists tin among the materials; Kalighat painters used it to give jewels and pearls their lustre.
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