[CHAITANAYA MAHAPRABHU & VISHNUPRIYA]

22-1/2 x 24-3/8” in [57.2 x 61.7 cm]

India, signed, date unknown, polychrome gouache on board

verso: signed ‘Mohan’

. . . . . . . . .

Representation of the Bengali vaishnavite guru Chaitanya Mahaprabhu placing shakha bracelet (a type of bracelet traditional as a wedding jewel in West Bengal, and made of shankha conch shells) on his wife, Vishnupriya. The action is complex, and occurs on three distinguishable layers. First, in the bottom half of the painting the aforementioned sage, sitting bare-chested on a mat, holds the hand of his new wife, who sits in front of him dressed in a richly decorated red sari. The scene is set in front of their home, a simple hut seen at the right of the two figures. At the left, among other plants, stands out a bush of tulsi or holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), planted in a profusely decorated pot. This plant is sacred, traditionally associated with the worship of Vishnu, and to a lesser extent Shiva, both of whom appear emerging from among the clouds, at the top two corners of the image; blessing the joined hands of the new couple through rays of light. This is the second layer of the picture. The third (and equally prominent) layer consists in the coupled figures of Krishna, playing his flute, and Radha, his consort who leans gently against his shoulder. All of the divine figures emanate a radiant halo, to distinguish them more clearly from the humane couple of sage and wife. To the bottom of the picture, text in Bengali describes: ‘Nimai [an epithet of Chaitanya, referencing his birth under a neem tree] helps Vishnupriya wear her sakhas, while Narayana [an epithet for Vishnu] and Shiva bless them together’. Signed by the artist in verso.

. . . . . . . . .

‘Calendar Art’ Paintings of India are the original artworks from which commercial printers created mass-produced popular images. The artworks can be grouped into major themes; religion, alluring women, patriotic national heroes and political leaders, movie stars, divine cherubic babies.

Functioning as pin-ups, calendar illustrations, and altar gods, the printed images can be found throughout 19th, 20th and 21st century India homes, schools, shrines, public halls and workplaces. Displayed within a wide range of contexts this art knows no class boundaries: in living rooms of the prosperous, on urban slum lean-to’s, in village thatched dwellings, framed in middle class kitchens.

The prints of specifically religious nature depict gods, goddesses, epic scenes, saints and sacred sites. Displayed in every kind of shop imaginable (tailor shops, tea stalls, grocery stores), transport (car and taxi dashboards, train conductors perch), upon persons (shirt pockets, wallets, purse), these iconic images are believed to act as talismans offering a means to worship, and, potentially access the divine.

. . . . . . . . .

similar calendar art paintings and/or prints have been exhibited and/or archived at the following venues:

=> Gods in the Bazaar

=> Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia (Vancouver)

=> The British Museum