Title
Crossing to Lanka
Year/Period
Late 18th-early 19th centuries
Region
Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India
Material
Dimension
Image size: 37.8 x 52.7 cm
Accession No.
2007-01046
Collection of
Credit Line
Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum
This painting depicts Rama, Lakshmana and their army of monkeys in council. Having arrived at the seashore, the army needs to cross the sea in order to reach the palace of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, who has abducted Sita. At the top right corner of the picture, a part of Ravana’s palace can be seen.The beautiful rendering of the ocean, which depicts turbulent waves, is finely drawn. Land and ocean are dramatically juxataposed. Most of the picture surface is given to water rather than to land, a compositional device used by the artist to emphasise the ocean’s vastness.
