Mahakali

1980

Not on view

In January 1980 Srimati began a large-scale work devoted to the goddess Kali. In her diary entry for May 19, she wrote: “I painted the whole day and completed the painting Maha Kali. Thank God Mother has blessed me.” Mahakali is a powerful cosmological evocation of the mighty goddess, a vision of frightful energy wrought through devotion. The ten-armed Kali strides across a turbulent landscape, a skirt of human skulls rattling at her waist. Srimati described being awakened at night by the crushing sounds of the skulls in Kali’s skirt and hearing them until she finished the painting. The degree of the artist’s emotional immersion in the imagery of Kali is evident in the finished work, a painting of great authority that conveys an almost subliminal understanding of the power of the goddess.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Mahakali
Artist: Y. G. Srimati (Indian, 1926–2007)
Date: 1980
Culture: India
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Dimensions: Image: 29 1/4 × 21 7/8 in. (74.3 × 55.6 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Michael Pellettieri, in memory of Y. G. Srimati, 2009
Object Number: 2009.211
Rights and Reproduction: © 2009 M. Pellettieri
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Y. G. Srimati

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Eklavya Practicing Archery before an Icon of Dronacharya, Y. G. Srimati Indian, Watercolor on paper, India (Chennai) — Eklavya Practicing Archery before an Icon of Dronacharya
Y. G. Srimati
ca. 1945–46

The Bullock Cart, Y. G. Srimati Indian, Watercolor on paper, India (Chennai) — The Bullock Cart
Y. G. Srimati
ca. 1950

Woman with Medallion, Y. G. Srimati Indian, Transparent and opaque watercolor, and graphite on paper, India (Chennai) — Woman with Medallion
Y. G. Srimati
early 1940s

Young Woman in Dressing Room, Y. G. Srimati Indian, Watercolor on paper, India (Chennai) — Young Woman in Dressing Room
Y. G. Srimati
early 1940s

Vishvarupa, Y. G. Srimati Indian, Watercolor on paper, India (Chennai) — Vishvarupa
Y. G. Srimati
1961

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