Krishna and Radha Sheltering from the Rain

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Artist: Nurpur workshop (India)
Medium: Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
Size: 9 5/16 × 5 1/2 in. (23.65 × 13.97 cm) (image)
Museum: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Rights: Public Domain Mark

Among the classic subjects of courtly Indian painting is the love-sport of Krishna (earthly incarnation of Vishnu) and the milkmaid Radha. The theme was popularized by devotional poetry, such as the 12th-century poet Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda (Love Song of the Dark Lord), which provided evocative inspiration for visual artists and an emotional template for communing with the Lord for devotees. The passion between Krishna and Radha is a metaphor for devotion (bhakti) and union with the divine.

In this painting, a sudden cloudburst forces the couple to seek refuge under a stately mango tree. While their cowherd attendants obediently offer a leafy parasol (symbolizing divine status) and lotus stalk (symbolizing purity), Krishna and Radha lock eyes in anticipation of a kiss. The scene alludes to an earlier moment in Krishna’s mythology, when he lifts a mountain to protect the village of Braj from a thunderstorm sent by Lord Indra. Here, narrative has given way to conveying the emotive essence, or rasa, of the couple’s love: birds flutter, the earth swells, and the saturated palette invites the viewer to experience the divine embrace.

Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.