1 / 5
Premium MILLON
146
-
Shiva as an ascetic approaching Annapurna to receive alms
Be…
See original version (French)
146
-
Shiva as an ascetic approaching Annapurna to receive alms
Be…
See original version (French)
Estimate €12,000 - €18,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Shiva as an ascetic approaching Annapurna to receive alms
Bengal school, early XXᵉ century
Oil on canvas
60.5 x 50.5 cm (23.8 x 19.9 in.)
Provenance:
British private collection, acquired from a Calcutta gallery in the late 1980s ;
Bonhams, London, 30 March 2021, lot 83.
References :
G. Tillotson, Modern Indian Painting: The Jane and Kito de Boer Collection, 2019, p. 65, fig. 42.
A. Ghosh, Art of Bengal: Past and Present, 2000, p. 47 (Early Bengal Oils).
J. Jain, Kalighat Painting: Images from a Changing World, Ahmedabad, 1999, pp. 82-83, fig. 78.
Depicting Shiva as an ascetic, dressed in a tiger-skin loincloth and holding an alms bowl to receive the food offered by Annapûrnâ, the nurturing manifestation of Pârvatî.
The scene illustrates a devotional episode from the Purâna, in which Shiva, having renounced all material existence, turns to the goddess for sustenance. Annapûrnâ's gesture of offering symbolises the union between renunciation and divine generosity, between spirit and matter.
This theme, popular in the Kalighat paintings of the late XIXᵉ century, is here reinterpreted in a more naturalistic and refined manner, characteristic of the early Bengal School.
The artist retains the frontality and narrative clarity of the popular prototypes, while infusing the scene with more nuanced modelling, a softened palette and a contemplative serenity.
A Bengal School painting of Shiva as an ascetic receiving alms from Annapurna, oil on canvas, Bengal School, early 20th century.
Shiva is depicted as an ascetic, clad in a tiger-skin loincloth and holding an alms bowl to receive food from Annapurna, the nourishing manifestation of Parvati. The scene illustrates a devotional episode drawn from the Puranas in which Shiva, having renounced all material existence, turns to the goddess for sustenance - Annapurna's offering symbolising the union between renunciation and divine generosity, between spirit and matter. A theme popular in late 19th-century Kalighat painting, here reinterpreted in a more naturalistic and refined manner characteristic of the early Bengal School, with softened palette and contemplative serenity.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like