Krishna and Radha Avoid Embarrassment: Mottaita Bhava, from a Rasikapriya (c. 1640): Art, History and Details

Krishna and Radha Avoid Embarrassment: Mottaita Bhava, from a Rasikapriya (c. 1640) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The double-sided leaf is based on the theme of embarrassing situations avoided by trickery. Both sides are presented with the same composition and color palette, indicating the unity of emotion felt by the hero and the heroine. The paintings in concert with the verses explore a complex emotion experienced by lovers, its causes, and how it causes the lovers to react.

Object facts

• Title: Krishna and Radha Avoid Embarrassment: Mottaita Bhava, from a Rasikapriya
• Date: c. 1640
• Culture: Central India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: 21.5 x 17.2 cm (8 7/16 x 6 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2018.125

A detail from the museum

Double-sided leaves are rare among painted Rasikapriya sets.

Collection credit

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.