Late 18th - early 19th century

Sugriva Fights Valin, Then Begs Rama for Help

Drawings reveal the process by which paintings were created. This artist began by sketching his scenes on an unprimed sheet of paper. At left, the monkey king Valin fights his brother Sugriva, while at right, Sugriva appeals to Rama for help. The names of the main characters are inscribed above their heads. Although Hanuman is not mentioned, he is probably one of the monkeys at far right. After drawing the scenes, the artist would have primed the paper with white paint, polished it, and then added color. Because the painting is unfinished, the loose but sure hand of the artist is revealed, lending an extraordinary vitality to the fight.