The Gopis Plead with Krishna to Return Their Clothing

The Gopis Plead with Krishna to Return Their Clothing, Page from a Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of Lord Vishnu) series

The Gopis Plead with Krishna to Return Their Clothing, Page from a Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of Lord Vishnu) series

Date:ca. 1610
Culture:India (Rajasthan, Bikaner)
Medium:Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions:Image: 6 3/4 × 9 3/4 in. (17.1 × 24.8 cm)
Sheet: 7 15/16 × 11 1/16 in. (20.2 × 28.1 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky Fund, 2001

Krishna sits high in a tree with the clothing he has playfully stolen from the bathing gopis (cow maids). They look on with love, praying for union with the god in a passionate expression of bhakti (devotional worship). The artist has employed a limited Rajput color scheme in conjunction with elements of Mughal derivation, such as the foliage and naturalistic treatment of the water.

Provenance

[Natesans' Galleries Ltd. , London, until 2001, sold to MMA]

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