Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan (c. 1780–90): Art, History and Details

Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan (c. 1780–90) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Krishna supports Mount Govardhan with nothing but his little finger as he gazes into the eyes of his favorite cowherd girl, Radha, and pats the head of a child. His brother Balarama, with white skin and a blue garment, adds further support with a staff. The cows and members of the herding community all cluster close to Krishna, sheltered from the raging storm sent by Indra riding his white elephant in the sky.

Object facts

• Title: Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan
• Date: c. 1780–90
• Culture: Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Kangra
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 20.6 x 14 cm (8 1/8 x 5 1/2 in.); with borders: 21.6 x 15.2 cm (8 1/2 x 6 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2001.45

A detail from the museum

Eyes cover the body of Indra, known as the "Thousand-Eyed One."

Collection credit

John L. Severance 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.