The Gods Are Ousted by an Army of Demons, folio from the unfinished Small Guler series of the Bhagavata Purana
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.In this dynamic scene typical of Manaku’s late work, the gods retreat while a wild horde of demons emerges from a fortified palace. The artist’s process is evident: first, he freely drew the composition with a pencil, erasing and reworking many lines. Next, using a brush charged with ink, he began to refine figures in the lower left, such as Ganesha who sits on his rat vehicle (vahana) and looks back at the advancing demons. This sketch is one of nearly a thousand illustrated pages of the Bhagavata Purana that the artist created at the end of his life but never finished
Artwork Details
- Title: The Gods Are Ousted by an Army of Demons, folio from the unfinished Small Guler series of the Bhagavata Purana
- Artist: Manaku (Indian, active ca. 1725–60)
- Date: ca. 1740
- Culture: India, Punjab Hills, kingdom of Guler
- Medium: Drawing in brush and black ink
- Dimensions: Image: 7 1/8 × 11 1/8 in. (18.1 × 28.3 cm)
Overall: 8 11/16 × 12 1/2 in. (22 × 31.7 cm)
Mat: 14 1/4 in. × 18 in. (36.2 × 45.7 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Promised Gift of Steven Kossak, The Kronos Collections
- Object Number: L.2018.44.21
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art