Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor painting. It dates from 1625 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A man in blue rides a white horse through a storm of arrows as other horsemen charge around him with swords drawn. This is Krishna shown as a warrior, painted in bright ink and watercolor about the size of a postcard. From Mewar in Rajasthan around 1625, the artist unknown.
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1625 by an anonymous Indian artist, this ink and opaque watercolor painting illustrates a scene from mythology featuring the deity Krishna.
Created in 1625 by an anonymous Indian artist, this ink and opaque watercolor painting illustrates a scene from mythology featuring the deity Krishna. The composition explicitly depicts Krishna alongside a horse and a male figure. While the specific narrative episode is not detailed in the available records, the presence of these figures firmly establishes the work's subject matter within the tradition of Hindu mythological storytelling.
The iconography centers on the interaction between the divine figure and the accompanying man and animal, representing a moment of spiritual or narrative significance typical of the genre.
Technique & Style
Executed in ink and opaque watercolor on paper, this 1625 work from India employs the traditional miniature painting technique associated with the period. The horizontal format, measuring 17.9 by 37.5 centimeters, is characteristic of manuscript-style compositions. The handling combines fine linear ink work for contours and details with flat, opaque color washes, a method typical of seventeenth-century Indian painting.
The mythological subject matter, depicting Krishna with a horse and a man, is rendered in the stylized figural and compositional conventions of the tradition.
History & Provenance
The painting Untitled, dated 1625, was created in India by an anonymous artist who specialized in mythological subjects. It portrays the Hindu deity Krishna alongside a horse and a male figure, a composition recorded in both the internal catalogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Wikidata entry. The work remained in its place of production until it entered the museum’s collection, where it is currently housed in New York.
No documentation of a specific commission or subsequent private owners is available; the only documented ownership chain traces the piece from its creation in India to its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The work titled Untitled, an anonymous Indian painting from 1625, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This ink and opaque watercolor on paper, classified under paintings and depicting mythological figures including Krishna, a man, and a horse, measures 17.9 by 37.5 centimeters. The museum acquired the piece, which originated in India, as part of its holdings of South Asian art.
No specific accession number or detailed exhibition history is provided in the available documentation, though the work remains part of the museum's permanent collection.
Overview
This untitled painting, rendered in ink and opaque watercolor on paper, depicts a dynamic battle scene. A central figure in blue, identified as the Hindu deity Krishna, rides a white horse amidst a flurry of arrows, surrounded by other mounted warriors wielding swords. Its small scale, approximately the size of a postcard, belies the intensity of the action portrayed within its vibrant composition.
Artist & collection
