Dhumavati
Dhumavati, one of the ten Tantric goddesses of Hinduism, the Mahavidyas, represents the fearsome aspect of Devi, the Supreme Goddess. Dhumavati is portrayed as an elderly widow and is associated with all things inauspicious. Devotees worship her as one who reveals the ultimate knowledge that exists beyond the illusory realms of the material world. Crows are her insignia, and here they serve as her steeds, pulling her carriage through her favorite abode: a charnel ground, here littered with human bones and two burning funeral pyres. Dhumavati’s name appears beneath the scene in Hindi and Bengali. In this early lithograph, the artist used a grisaille-type technique (a monochromatic rendering using shades of gray), along with touches of color wash.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dhumavati
- Date: 1875–80
- Culture: India, Calcutta
- Medium: Lithograph with black ink and hand coloring on paper
- Dimensions: Sheet: 12 1/2 × 10 3/8 in. (31.8 × 26.4 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.15
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Indian (North)
late 19th century
James McNeill Whistler
1878
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ca. 1777–82
Honoré Daumier
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ca. 1800–1805
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