Toilette of Radha (c. 1810–20): Art, History and Details

Toilette of Radha (c. 1810–20) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Krishna spies on his beloved Radha as she dresses for the day. An attendant holds a mirror for her, while others hold a sheet and a whisk of peacock feathers. Such a poetic scene suggests that even in our most private and intimate moments, god can see us.

Object facts

• Title: Toilette of Radha
• Date: c. 1810–20
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 21.1 x 14.5 cm (8 5/16 x 5 11/16 in.); Overall: 24.8 x 18.3 cm (9 3/4 x 7 3/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1953.245

Collection credit

Edward L. Whittemore Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Ward, William. "Three Indian Paintings." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 1 (January 1955): 12–15.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• Lee, Sherman E., and George Montgomery, ed. Rajput Painting. New York: Asia House, 1960.

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.