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Krishna asks for sweets, from a Sursagar of Surdas (Indian, c. 1480–1580)

Unknown

1708

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Baroque Mughal Painting 18th Century Religious

Dominant colour

Krishna asks for sweets, from a Sursagar of Surdas (Indian, c. 1480–1580) is a 1708 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1708 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a busy page from an old Indian book: a blue-skinned boy, Krishna, tugs at his mother’s sari while she cooks. Around them, tiny scenes show the same boy growing up—herding cows, fighting demons, and finally sitting on a throne. The whole story is packed into one sheet. The artist didn’t just paint a moment; they crammed Krishna’s whole life into a single frame, like a comic strip without panels. If you like this kind of layered storytelling, look up the Rajput kingdom of Mewar.

The story of this work

Overview

The heart of the scene is at the lower right, where the blue Hindu god Krishna as a boy is trying to persuade his foster mother Yashoda to give him more food. He is in the process of telling her that he needs extra treats so he can grow big to accomplish all the exploits depicted in the remainder of the page: herding cattle, killing demons, defeating wrestlers, and finally winning the throne of Mathura, as seen in the upper right where he sits crowned king in place of his evil uncle Kamsa.