Women Play Music for Radha and Krishna: Chitrini Nayika, from a Rasikapriya
1650
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1650
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Women Play Music for Radha and Krishna: Chitrini Nayika, from a Rasikapriya is a 1650 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Madhya Pradesh, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two blue-skinned gods, Radha and Krishna, sitting close under a tree while three women play music for them. One plucks a stringed instrument, another taps cymbals, and the third beats a drum. The back of the painting has a poem by Keshavdas explaining how music brings people together. The artist didn’t sign it, but the poem’s words help us understand why the scene was painted—to show joy in listening. To see more works like this, look up *central india, madhya pradesh, malwa*.
The idea of aesthetic appreciation as explored by the poet Keshavdas (Indian, 1555–1617) in the excerpt from his Rasikapriya written on the back of this painting is envisioned as the appreciation of music. With their arms around each other, Radha and Krishna enjoy the performance on a stringed instrument ( setar ), cymbals, and drum in the forest.
Krishna wears a translucent yellow tunic ( jama ), tied under the right arm, which is usually the convention for Muslims.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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