What Do the Hindu Gods Look Like Now?

Hindus have long wished to see their deities in visible form, and artists have met this desire through sculptures and paintings. In modern India, this desire has also been met by colorful mass-produced “God-prints,” often called calendar prints or bazaar art. Richard Davis, professor emeritus of religion, outlines the history of this genre of commercial religious art, from its origins in colonial Kolkata and Maharashtra through its proliferation in independent India. (World Art History Certificate elective, ½ credit)