Kalki Avatar, the Future Incarnation of Vishnu: Page from a Dispersed Manuscript
It is interesting to compare this version of Kalki Avatar with an earlier Basohli example (1991.32.1) in the collection. The basic format is the same, though the entire composition has been flopped. The Basohli work probably formed the inspiration for the present one. Here, the shallower space of the earlier picture has become deeper. The groom and horse inhabit the foreground; the hero, the middle ground; and the hilltop and distant trees, the background. The hero's throne and fringed canopy are shown in an incipient perspective. The color is more naturalistic and the setting has a tangible sense of reality. Only the golden wings of the horse are new and fabulous.
Artwork Details
- Title: Kalki Avatar, the Future Incarnation of Vishnu: Page from a Dispersed Manuscript
- Date: ca. 1760–70
- Culture: India (Punjab Hills, Guler)
- Medium: Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
- Dimensions: 6 1/4 x 8 3/8 in. (15.9 x 21.3 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Paul F. Walter, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.412
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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late 18th century
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ca. 1740
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