Open full image Pin

Krishna’s longing for Radha, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva

Unknown

1822

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Romanticism Early 19th Century Religious

Dominant colour

Krishna’s longing for Radha, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva is a 1822 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1822 · Mughal Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a lush forest by a river, with seven identical blue-skinned Krishnas waiting in different poses. One paces, one leans on a tree, one peeks through leaves. At the top right, Radha in yellow talks to her friend, hesitating. The artist shows time passing in one frame—like a comic strip without panels. Krishna’s longing is stretched out, while Radha’s decision feels slow and heavy. This comes from an old poem about love and doubt. If you like this, look up *Pahari kingdoms*—these small hill courts painted many such scenes.

The story of this work

Overview

In the lush forests on the banks of India’s Yamuna River, the youthful god Krishna waits to rendezvous with his beloved Radha. The artist has rendered his impatience by showing seven Krishnas, in various attitudes of anxious waiting, as though seeing him over a period of time. Meanwhile Radha, dressed in yellow at top right, confers seemingly endlessly with her confidante, as she tries to decide whether she should meet Krishna for the illicit tryst—she is already married and Krishna is prone to flirting with other girls. This scene is a metaphor for how god waits for us to come to him, while…

Read the full account in the museum source.