Kalighat painting derives its name from its place of origin Kalighat in Kolkata. Kalighat is a bazaar near the Kali temple in Kolkata.

Patua painters from rural Bengal came and settled in Kalighat to make images of gods and goddesses in the early nineteenth century.

Similar kind of pata paintings may be found in Orissa.

Today the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hosts the single largest collection of Kalighat paintings in the world.

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What type of colours are used in Kalighat paintings?

These paintings on paper made with water colours comprise clear sweeping line drawings using bright colours and a clear background.

What are the subjects of Kalighat paintings?

Subjects are images of Kali, Lakshmi, Krishna, Ganesha, Shiva, and other gods and goddesses.

In this process, artists developed a unique new form of expression, and effectively portray a wide range of subjects commenting on the social life of Bengal.

How Kalighat paintings have developed and evolved?

This painting form has its roots in the culture upheavds of 19th century colonial Bengal.

As its market grew, the artists began to liberate themselves from the routine depiction of Hindu deities and began to explore the world of contemporary social events in their paintings.

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What are the factors which have influenced the Kalighat paintings?

The genre derived much inspiration from the introduction of photography, western style theatrical performances, the rise of babu culture in Bengal as a result of the impact of British colonial and administrative system.

The emergence of the unique lifestyle of the nouveau riche of Kolkota in response to these diverse influence also inspired these paintings.

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All these stimuli gave birth to a new imagery that occupied the centre stage of Bengali literature, theatre and visual arts of the period.

Kalighat paintings became the best mirror of this cultural and aesthetic shift.

Based on their preexisting models of the Hindu deities, the artists created a whole repertoire of images, courtesans, actresses, heroines, pompous babus and conceited dandies, resplendent in their fancy attire and hair styles, smoking pipes and playing the sitar.

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Kalighat paintings are often referred to as the first works of art that came from Bengal.

What is the present status of Kalighat painting?

The practice of Kalighat painting began to die out during the early decades of the 20th century following the increase in demand for cheaper, commercially produced images.

The Kalighat school has nearly come to an end. Today the painting is no longer practiced as it was done in the past, though in some rural pockets of Bengal particularly in Medinipur and Birbhum, the tradition is kept alive by contemporary artists.

External link: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/kalighat-painting