Lakshmi-Ganesha-Saraswati In All Their Finery

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Lord Ganesha sits between His sisters, Devi Lakshmi and Devi Saraswati. He is seated on a simple round mat with a vessel of laddoos in His hand and a tapering crown that adds some length to His plump form and elephant face. In keeping with Her traditional iconography, Devi Lakshmi is seated in the chalice of a gigantic lotus bloom, smaller lotuses in all the freshness of their bloom swaying in the fingers of Her posterior hands. Devi Saraswati sits strumming Her veena on Her trusty vahana, the swan, whose body is as glacial and pristine as Her skin. All three deities are chaturbhujadhari (four-armed) and are bedecked with ample proportions of shringar (note the artisan’s attention to detail in this aspect). They gaze upon their devotees with great compassion and love.

An interesting ratio lies amongst the colours of the highly curated palette of this composition. The dominant colour is the dark, earthy ivory of the rough-hewn fabric canvas. While the deities have been drawn in organic black and red pigments, the backgrounds of their respective altars are filled in with a thick red ochre and a bit of black. Similar filled-in details are to be found along the edges of the painting.