India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa, circa 1630-1640

Opaque watercolor and silver on paper

4 1/2 x 8 in. (11.4 x 20.3 cm.)

Provenance:

Kapoor Galleries Inc. , New York, by 2003, sold to MMA.

Exhibited:

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Krishna: Mythology and Worship,” February 9, 2004–May 9, 2004.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Illustrated Manuscripts in India: Late 13th–early 17th Century,” 2004.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Krishna: Mythology and Worship,” March 1, 2008–July 28, 2008.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Lyrical Visions: Paintings from North India,” December 3, 2011–May 28, 2012.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Poetry and Devotion in Indian Painting: A Curatorial Legacy,” June 15, 2016–December 4, 2016.

A girl with curving hips, bending to whisper in his ear,

Cherishes her kiss on her lover’s tingling cheek.

Hari revels here as the crowd of charming girls

Revels in seducing him to play.

—Gita Govinda, canto 1, verse 41

This illustration faithfully adheres to the text, presenting Krishna (Hari) on the bank of a river surrounded by admiring cow maids (gopis). However, it is the color play of the natural elements, populated with birds and monkeys, that animates the scene. With its wavelike cloud pattern and distinct figure type, this work typifies the early Malwa stylistic vocabulary.