Krishna and Balarama

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the influence of oil painting and the increasing demand for naturalism in painting forced a large number of anonymous bazaar painters to adapt inherited formats of religious pictures to suit new visual tastes. A common characteristic of all these paintings was an attempt at naturalism, evident in the three-dimensional modeling of anatomies, and in the structure of the background landscape. In the current work, the artist has shown a strong grasp of perspective and naturalism both in the landscape and the animals he depicts. The figures, however, remain closer to the Indian prototypes seen in miniature painting, than to European examples. Thus, the need to capture a naturalistic vision is in balance with the Indian concerns of iconographic accuracy and intricate detailing of costumes and ornaments.