Artwork Page for Ganesh

Details / Information for Ganesh

Ganesh

c. 1890

Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat

Medium
Gum tempera, graphite, and tin on paper lined with cloth
Measurements
Secondary Support: 47 x 30.5 cm (18 1/2 x 12 in.); Painting only: 43 x 27.4 cm (16 15/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.98
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

His copious jewlery has been painted in tin, a less expensive metallic pigment than silver.

Description

The elephant-headed deity who is worshipped as the remover of obstacles is shown here seated in majesty with a radiant halo. The painting has been executed in the rapid, gestural style used by artists at Kalighat to create inexpensive souvenirs for pilgrims to bring home for veneration in domestic devotional spaces.
A vertically oriented gum tempera painting with torn edges depicts Ganesha. The four-armed figure features a medium-light elephant head and fat, medium-dark red body. Seated cross-legged on a green cushion atop a yellow stool, he wears white necklaces and a crown beneath a radiating blue and yellow halo. Below the stool, a gray mouse faces left. Handwritten script at the bottom identifies him as "Ganesha" against a swath of aged, beige paper.

Ganesh

c. 1890

Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat

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