1875-1890

Two Disciples of Chaitanya (Advaita and Nityananda)

This painting belongs to a distinctive tradition of Indian painting known as Kalighat, which is marked by large images, sweeping lines, and simple color schemes. Kalighat paintings were made primarily at the end of the nineteenth century to sell as souvenirs to visitors at the shrine of the goddess Kali in Calcutta. The subject matter not only included the goddess, but also other Hindu deities, animals, and miscellaneous religious characters. In this case, disciples of the holy man Chaitanya (died 1533) were deemed salable. Chaitanya was considered by many to be an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and was especially revered in Bengal as a beggar god.