Kalighat painting was a product of the changing
urban society of the nineteenth century
Calcutta. With the growing importance of the
Kalighat temple as a pilgrimage centre in the
then British capital, Calcutta, a group of
artists from the traditional patua and
other artisan communities evolved a quick method
of painting on mill-made paper. Using brush and
ink from the lampblack, these artists defined
figures of deities, gentry and ordinary people
with deft and vigorously flowing lines. There
were romantic depictions of women. There were
satirical paintings lampooning the hypocrisies
of the newly rich and the changing roles of men
and women after the introduction of education
for women.
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