Krishna and the Gopis Gather for Rasamandala (c. 1720–30): Art, History and Details

Krishna and the Gopis Gather for Rasamandala (c. 1720–30) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

On the banks of a river full of lotus flowers, the blue god Krishna address the gopis, women of the cowherding community where he spent his youth. At first, they approach him, smiling and delighted, proclaiming that he is the god of love, shining like the full moon above. When he tells them that he is soon leaving them, they fall to the ground, distraught. Although the figures of the gopis are painted individually, with varied skin colors and garments, they act collectively.

Object facts

• Title: Krishna and the Gopis Gather for Rasamandala
• Date: c. 1720–30
• Culture: Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Kota
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 41.5 x 28.5 cm (16 5/16 x 11 1/4 in.); Overall: 50 x 32.5 cm (19 11/16 x 12 13/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1960.45

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review 1960." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 47, no. 10 (December 1960): 223-54.
• Lee, Sherman E. and George Montgomery. Rajput Painting; with an introductory essay and catalogue notes. New York: Asia House, 1960.
• Heeramaneck, Alice N. Masterpieces of Indian Painting: From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck. Verona, Italy: A.N. Heeramaneck, 1984.

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.