Krishna Ferrying Radha Across the Yamuna River (c. 1890): Art, History and Details

Krishna Ferrying Radha Across the Yamuna River (c. 1890) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This image is taken from popular dramas where Krishna, lover of the cowgirls (gopis), disguises himself as a boatman to ferry a demure Radha, his favorite gopi. It depicts devotion and the intensity of separated lovers. The painting includes an image of another woman, dressed in white with shorn hair, possibly a widow. Krishna is portrayed as sporting a mustache and has a Prince Albert hairstyle.

Object facts

• Title: Krishna Ferrying Radha Across the Yamuna River
• Date: c. 1890
• Culture: Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
• Dimensions: Painting only: 44.5 x 28.3 cm (17 1/2 x 11 1/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2003.130

Collection credit

Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward

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.