Harvard Art Museums > 1995.121: Vasanta Raga (painting, recto), from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series Manuscripts Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Vasanta Raga (painting, recto), from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series , 1995.121,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Jul 08, 2025, https://hvrd.art/o/310444. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1995.121 Title Vasanta Raga (painting, recto), from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series Classification Manuscripts Work Type manuscript folio Date c. 1670 - 1680 Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Sirohi Culture Indian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/310444 Physical Descriptions Medium Opaque watercolor on paper Dimensions 22 x 16 cm (8 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.) framed: 48.58 x 38.42 x 2.22 cm (19 1/8 x 15 1/8 x 7/8 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift in gratitude to John Coolidge, Gift of Leslie Cheek, Jr., Anonymous Fund in memory of Henry Berg, Louise Haskell Daly, Alpheus Hyatt, Richard Norton Memorial Funds and through the generosity of Albert H. Gordon and Emily Rauh Pulitzer; formerly in the collection of Stuart Cary Welch, Jr. Accession Year 1995 Object Number 1995.121 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The season of “Vasanta” or spring is evoked in several elements in this painting of the Vasanta Raga. Here, the blue-skinned Hindu god Krishna alongside gopis (cowgirls) celebrates Holi, the festival of colors. The scene unfolds outdoors, underneath an awning framed by flowering trees. Krishna playfully holds a young maiden as another maiden prepares a syringe to shoot colored water onto the pair. A third maiden plays a percussion instrument to add to the merriment. Holi is celebrated annually on the first full moon day of the month in March and is considered to mark the transition from wintertime to spring, an appropriate subject for a painting of Vasanta Raga. This painting is a pictorial metaphor for a raga, a musical phrase that is used as the basis for improvisation, belonging to a Ragamala or “Garland of melodies” series. The orange borders and the red and green color fields in the architectural frame of the painting link it to the Ragamala or "Garland of Ragas" series attributed to the Sirohi court. The overall composition reflects the artists’ knowledge of the late seventeenth-century Malwa court styles. Another folio from the same series is 1960.155. Rajput, Rajasthani, Sirohi School. Exhibition History The Music Room, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/22/1984 - 11/11/1984 Rajasthani Miniatures: The Welch Collection at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, The Drawing Center, New York, 04/16/1997 - 06/07/1997 Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
