Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor painting by the Patna School of Painting artist Ragunath. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features Krishna alongside a lion and a surrounding crowd, situating the figures within a narrative context drawn from Indian mythology.
Created in 1890 by the artist Ragunath, this opaque watercolor and ink work on paper depicts a mythological scene centered on the Hindu deity Krishna. The composition features Krishna alongside a lion and a surrounding crowd, situating the figures within a narrative context drawn from Indian mythology. While the specific episode from Krishna's life is not explicitly detailed in the available records, the presence of the lion and the assembled group suggests a moment of significant interaction or divine display.
The work functions as a representation of these traditional religious stories, utilizing established iconography to convey the deity's presence among both human and animal figures. As a piece of 19th-century Indian painting, it serves to visualize these enduring mythological themes through the medium of watercolor and ink.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in opaque watercolor with ink on paper, a traditional combination characteristic of late nineteenth-century Indian painting practice. Ragunath's handling employs this mixed-media approach to render a mythological scene populated by Krishna, a crowd, and a lion. Held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, the painting was produced in India in 1890 and is classified within the museum's paintings holdings as a mythological work.
The opaque watercolor ground, reinforced with ink, would have allowed for both broad tonal washes and precise linear definition suited to its narrative subject matter.
History & Provenance
The opaque watercolor and ink painting on paper was created in 1890 by the artist Ragunath, produced in India. The work depicts a mythological scene featuring Krishna alongside a crowd and a lion. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains located. No additional details regarding commission, intermediate ownership, or earlier provenance are documented in the available sources.
The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is identified as a work by Ragunath dated 1890. According to the Wikidata record for the object, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is listed as both the collection and the location of the work. The source materials do not specify an individual accession number or provide any documented exhibition history for the painting.
Context
Untitled (1890) is an opaque watercolor and ink work on paper that illustrates the Hindu deity Krishna alongside a crowd and a lion, situating it within the mythological genre that dominated late‑19th‑century Indian painting. The work belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, reflecting the museum’s early acquisition of Indian mythological artworks. Its creation in India and the inclusion of recognizable mythic figures have been cited in scholarship as illustrative of Ragunath’s role in bridging traditional devotional imagery with contemporary artistic practice.
Overview
This untitled painting by Ragunath, created around 1890, employs opaque watercolor and ink on paper. It presents a vibrant mythological scene centered on the Hindu deity Krishna. The artwork captures a dynamic moment, depicting Krishna riding a lion amidst a densely packed gathering of figures, all rendered under a distinctive flat blue sky.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ragunath turned loose, ink-stained sketches into sharp little worlds on paper, often putting travelers and gods in the same frame and never quite choosing a side.
- Untitled
Vishnu on Garuda
Untitled
Shaivite procession at night
Ruler Entertained by Dancers in a Paradise Garden
Courtyard of a house in Pune
Mubarak ud-Daula, Nawab of Murshidabad, in durbar with the British Resident, Sir John Hadley D'Oyly
Seated Figures and Attendants Before a Fountain
Nanda and the Elders in Council with the Cowherds, from a Bhagavata Purana
Court Scene
Rama and Sita in the royal palace (recto), from a Kalighat album
Kali puja
