Siege of Lanka 1595 - 1605

abstract painting

handmade artwork painting

oil painting

fluid art

coffee painting

naive art

painting painterly

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

watercolor

"Siege of Lanka" is an anonymous illustration depicting a scene from the Hindu epic Ramayana. Painted between 1595-1605, the miniature shows the battle between Rama's monkey army and the demon king Ravana's forces as they fight for the city of Lanka. The composition utilizes a unique perspective with a dramatic depiction of a battlefield amidst a rocky landscape. This artwork is currently located at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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This painting comes from a well-known, widely dispersed manuscript of one of the most important Hindu epics, the Ramayana. Probably commissioned by a sub-imperial Mughal official in northern India, and damaged by fire, it shows Rama, the epic’s blue-skinned hero and an avatar of Vishnu, standing on the right next to his brother, Lakshmana. They have arrived at the foot of the demon Ravana’s palace in Lanka to rescue Rama’s wife Sita, held captive in the golden fort in the distance. They command an army of bears and monkeys, led by the monkey king Hanuman and the bear king Jambavan, against Ravana’s demon armies. The lively, colorful rendering shows the artist’s skill in illustrating the natural world and conveying movement, particularly seen in the demons lurking behind the rocks.