Krishna thumbnail 1
Krishna thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Krishna

Painting
ca. 1660 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Bundi (made)

This painting is an illustration to the Hindu text the Bhagavata Purana. It relates specifically to the section dealing with the events in the early life of the Hindu god Krishna. Here he is shown raising up Mount Govardhan on one finger-tip. He is doing this to shelter his friends the cowherds from a great storm unleashed by the god Indra, who was jealous of Krishna's powers. Indra's elephant mount appears in the top right of the painting, although Indra himself is no longer visible. The style of the painting suggests that the work was painted in Bundi in Rajasthan in about 1640. It shows a fusion of Rajasthani, especially Mewar, styles with the new realism that artists working at the Mughal court had introduced.


Object details

Categories
Paintings
Hinduism
Religion
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
SCRAN
Animals and Wildlife
Object type
Painting
TitleKrishna (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour on paper
Paint
Opaque Watercolour
Paper
Painted
Brief description
Painting, Krishna raising Mount Govardhan, opaque watercolour on paper, Bundi, ca. 1660
Physical description
This painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, done in extremely fine work shows Krishna raising Mount Govadhan, for a Ragamala series.
Dimensions
  • Height: 385mm (maximum)
  • Width: 275mm (maximum)
  • Painted area height: 230mm (maximum)
  • Painted area width: 355mm (maximum)
  • Paper onto which object mounted height: 410mm
  • Paper onto which object mounted width: 293mm
29/05/2013 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Content description
Krishna raising Mount Govadhan.
Subjects depicted
Mountain
Deity
Krishna
Literary referenceBhagavata Purana
Summary
This painting is an illustration to the Hindu text the Bhagavata Purana. It relates specifically to the section dealing with the events in the early life of the Hindu god Krishna. Here he is shown raising up Mount Govardhan on one finger-tip. He is doing this to shelter his friends the cowherds from a great storm unleashed by the god Indra, who was jealous of Krishna's powers. Indra's elephant mount appears in the top right of the painting, although Indra himself is no longer visible. The style of the painting suggests that the work was painted in Bundi in Rajasthan in about 1640. It shows a fusion of Rajasthani, especially Mewar, styles with the new realism that artists working at the Mughal court had introduced.
Bibliographic references
  • Swallow, Deborah and John Guy eds. Arts of India: 1550-1900. text by Rosemary Crill, John Guy, Veronica Murphy, Susan Stronge and Deborah Swallow. London : V&A Publications, 1990. 240 p., ill. ISBN 1851770224, p.134, pl.115.
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. p. 114, cat. no. 95
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.150-1949

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Record createdFebruary 3, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O73808/krishna-painting-unknown/
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