1972.360: Gopis Thinking of Krishna

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1972.360

Title

Gopis Thinking of Krishna

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

painting

Date

c. 1690

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Bikaner

Culture

Indian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/216691

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; Rajput School, Bikaner Style

Dimensions

23.34 x 17.94 cm (9 3/16 x 7 1/16 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith

Accession Year

1972

Object Number

1972.360

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

In the foreground of this painting, a group of five gopis (milkmaids) are shown in engaging in different forms of contemplation over Krishna, the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu who is worshipped as a god in his own right. Two converse with each other; two are seated, one of which has her hand under her chin; and the final one holds onto the branches of a tree. Her pose references the Virahotkanthita Nayika, (“One Distressed by Separation”), a heroine that waits for her lover to return from a long journey. Across the river, in the background, Krishna walks along the bank, outside the walls of a large, white city. Rajput School, Bikaner Style.

Publication History

• Stuart Cary Welch and Milo Cleveland Beach, Gods, Thrones, and Peacocks Northern Indian Painting from Two Traditions, exh. cat., Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (New York, NY, 1965), page 70/figure 22
• Elisabeth Barro, "Zangar: A Study of Green Pigments Used at the Mughal and Rajput Courts" (Bachelor's thesis, Harvard University, 1997), Unpublished, pp. 1-82 passim

Exhibition History

• Ambassador's Choice: The Galbraith Collection of Indian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 02/15/1986 - 04/06/1986
• Gods, Thrones, and Peacocks - Revisited: Northern Indian Miniatures from two Traditions, Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/31/1990 - 06/10/1990
• From India's Hills and Plains: Rajput Painting from the Punjab and Rajasthan, 17th through 19th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/1993 - 10/31/1993
• Rasika, the Discerning Connoisseur: Indian Paintings from the John Kenneth Galbraith Collection, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/1998 - 04/05/1998
• The Sensuous and the Sublime: Representations of Love in the Arts of the Middle East and Southern Asia, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/07/2001 - 12/30/2001

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