Artwork
Baby Krishna Asking for Butter from Yashoda, from a Kalighat album
Baby Krishna Asking for Butter from Yashoda, from a Kalighat album is an unspecified painting by the Bengal School artist Unknown. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work depicts a plump infant with blue skin, crowned in gold, reaching for butter while his mother watches.
- Accession no.
- 2003.112
About this work
Overview
The work depicts a plump infant with blue skin, crowned in gold, reaching for butter while his mother watches. Rendered with bold outlines and vivid, flat areas of colour, deep blue, bright yellow, and red, the scene resembles a graphic narrative rather than a detailed portrait.
Subject & Meaning
The child is Krishna, the Hindu deity who incarnated as a mischievous infant. In myth, his appetite for butter symbolizes his cosmic nature, suggesting that even a seemingly ordinary baby contains the universe within.
Technique & Style
Executed in the Kalighat school’s characteristic manner, the painting employs swift brushstrokes, simplified forms, and a limited palette. The emphasis on line and flat colour creates a lively, almost comic‑strip quality that conveys the narrative efficiently.
History & Provenance
Originating from the Kalighat district of Kolkata, the piece belongs to a tradition of inexpensive prints sold to pilgrims. Artists there produced such works rapidly to meet devotional demand, making them accessible to a broad public.
Context
Kalighat paintings emerged in the 19th‑century urban milieu, blending folk visual language with emerging print techniques. They served both as religious illustration and popular entertainment, reflecting everyday devotional practices among the city’s inhabitants.
Artist & collection
