Bhairava raga
1660
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1660
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Bhairava raga is a 1660 paint by Unknown, a Baroque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a blue-skinned man in a palace. He wears a peacock-feather crown and lifts a flute. A woman stands beside him, holding a small dish. Ragas are Hindu musical forms tied to moods and times of day. Ragamala art pairs each raga with a scene or person. Here, the figure looks like Krishna, not Shiva as normally expected. This could mean the painting was mislabeled long ago. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more ragamala pages.
Painting in opaque watercolour on paper, this work depicts the Hindu deity Krishna, identifiable by his blue skin and peacock-feather crown, alongside a female figure within a palace pavilion. It is part of a dispersed ragamala series, traditionally illustrating musical modes, and has previously been associated with Bhairava raga. The style, characterized by bold colours and a flat composition, aligns with the Malwa region’s painting traditions from approximately 1650 to 1700. The identification as Bhairava raga may require reconsideration due to the presence of Krishna rather than Shiva.
Read the full account in the museum source.
