Monkeys and Bears Fighting in the Madhuvana-Grove
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Museum Rietberg in Zürich, Switzerland, cataloged as RVI 845 |
| Location History: | Pandit Seu's 18th-century "Fight of Drunken Monkeys and Bears" was created in the Guler State of India and has been housed in the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh since 1968, following its time in the Pahari royal collections. The artwork has also been featured in international exhibitions, including a showcase at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
The Fight of Drunken Monkeys and Bears seems like an art work made in the modern era, since it was painted nearly three hundred years back. But within this chaotic composition lies a keen social commentary by Pandit Seu. The intoxicated monkeys and aggressive bears hardly seem animals anymore. They rather appear to be images of men dominated by their own self-pride, selfishness, and ego. The unique feature of this painting lies in the portrayal of movement, especially when it is compared to most other paintings during this period of history, where movement and action were rarely emphasized. There is disorderliness in this art, and yet, there is emotion and psychology behind each character. Each individual appears to be acting and reacting to situations with a different attitude – some are panicked, some agitated, others confused and yet others insane. There is also the eternal quality of satire in this composition. Intoxication, mob mentality, politics and even violence appear eternal in nature. Hence, Pandit Seu makes this art a mirror image of the society at any point of time in history.