1971.135: Krishna Swims with the Gopis (painting, recto), possibly an illustration from the Bhagavata Purana
Paintings
This object does not yet have a description.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1971.135
- Title
- Krishna Swims with the Gopis (painting, recto), possibly an illustration from the Bhagavata Purana
- Classification
- Paintings
- Work Type
- painting
- Date
- mid-19th century
- Places
- Creation Place: South Asia, India, Northern India, Pahari Region
- Culture
- Indian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/215670
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- 23.18 x 16.51 cm (9 1/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
- Accession Year
- 1971
- Object Number
- 1971.135
- 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
- In this painting, the blue-skinned Hindu god Krishna swims alongside a group of gopis (milkmaids) in a river. The setting is probably the town of Vrindavan where Krishna spent most of his early adulthood. The painting here seems to illustrate one of the many versions of the episode from the Bhagavata Purana, where Krishna steals the clothing left on the banks of the river by the bathing maidens, and hides the clothes on a tree. Here, he is shown to be teasing the gopis, holding on to one as she tries to playfully get away. The concept of Hindu devotional worship (bhakti) is alluded in the adoring eyes of the other gopis, gazing with warm love-laden eyes, praying for union with Krishna. In the distance, on the left, is a cow shepherd with his cattle; in the center is a priest at a shrine; and in on the right are several women surrounded by piles of laundry. Rajput, Pahari.
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 105/figure 72
Exhibition History
- Out of the Hills: Miniature Painting from Himalayan India, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 05/26/1984 - 07/08/1984
- 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
- 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/15/2024 - 10/28/2024
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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