Krishna and Radha Quarreling: Shatha Nayaka, from a Rasikapriya (c. 1680): Art, History and Details

Krishna and Radha Quarreling: Shatha Nayaka, from a Rasikapriya (c. 1680) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

When Krishna returns home at dawn, having spent the night elsewhere, an infuriated Radha inquires about his whereabouts and accuses him of infidelity. Krishna, realizing the intensity of the situation, tries to assuage her with sweet words and compares her red eyes to lotus petals. The rising sun behind the thick foliage is suggestive of early dawn.

Object facts

• Title: Krishna and Radha Quarreling: Shatha Nayaka, from a Rasikapriya
• Date: c. 1680
• Culture: Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bundi
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Page: 28.3 x 18.4 cm (11 1/8 x 7 1/4 in.); Miniature: 26.4 x 15.3 cm (10 3/8 x 6 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2018.158

A detail from the museum

Krishna wears a transparent white muslin jama, a popular article of Mughal fashion since the time of Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605–27).

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.