Krishna and Balarama

This image is an intriguing work since it manages to combine several traditional Indian painting styles into one coherent image. The flat planes of color in four main horizontal bands, used to create a sense of depth in the image, is a technique more commonly associated with Rajput painting of north-western India. Likewise, the stylized rocks and clouds seem to be drawn from earlier schools of Indian miniature painting, whilst the postures of Krishna and Balarama are clearly the influence of Kalighat painting. The narrative presentation of the whole work, however, is more common to the rural folk art of Bengal. The painting reveals the willingness of Indian artists at the beginning of the twentieth century to experiment with traditional formats to produce innovative works.

For a similar image, see, Art of Bengal 1850 - 1950, Calcutta Metropolitan Festival of Art, 1997, p. 60, pl. 25.