Radha's hair being dressed (c. 1790–1800): Art, History and Details

Radha's hair being dressed (c. 1790–1800) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Radha appears in the center, applying an ornament in the mirror. She and her friends do not realize that Krishna is watching from a second-story window. Her attendants hold up a curtain to give her privacy, while others fix her hair, hold the mirror, whisk away the flies, and bring her drinks. In the background, musicians carry instruments for a performance. This drawing is probably a study for a finished painting rather than an underdrawing that was meant to be painted over, due to the care and attention given to the fine details and expressions.

Object facts

• Title: Radha's hair being dressed
• Date: c. 1790–1800
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera with touches of color on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 25 x 17 cm (9 13/16 x 6 11/16 in.); Overall: 29.7 x 20.3 cm (11 11/16 x 8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1969.35

A detail from the museum

Radha’s mirror, as well as the curving bodies of the women and their fans, mimic the ovular frame of the drawing.

Collection credit

Edward L. Whittemore Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Ohri, Vishwa Chander. Arts of Himachal. Simla: State Museum, Dept. of Languages & Cultural Affairs, Himachal Pradesh, 1975.
• Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986.

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.