Featured as part of Encountering Religions in Asian Art
Historical Period(s)
ca. 1730
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (painting): 22.2 × 14.6 cm (8 3/4 × 5 3/4 in), H x W (overall): 26 × 20.3 cm (10 1/4 × 8 in)
Geography
Mankot, Uttarakhand state, India
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art
Collection
National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Accession Number
S2018.1.60
Title: Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. fluting, foliothe back and front of a leaf in a book; the term is usually used in the context of handwritten manuscripts. page – refers to only one side of a leaf and is used in the context of printed books. from a Dasavatar[DAS-aa-vuh-TAAR]the ten avatars of the god Vishnu. series
Type: Folio
Associated Religious Tradition: Hinduism
Origins
Geography: India, Uttarakhand state, Mankot
Date: ca. 1730
Period: Early Modern
Artist: Master of the Court of Mankot (Indian, active early 18th century)
Physical Properties
Material: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions: H × W (overall): 26 × 20.3 cm (10 1/4 × 8 in)
Crediting Information
Collection: National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Credit Line: Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection—funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art
Accession Number: S2018.1.60
Hinduism encompasses a wide range of beliefs and practices. For example, the divine (Atman or Brahman[BRAH-mun]the transcendent, formless, and infinite ground of all being.) is transcendent, infinite, and abstract. The divine simultaneously takes the forms of innumerable and immanent gods and goddesses. Visual representations of deities invite us to consider how gods were and are meaningful to Hindus.
The great god Vishnu[VISH-noo]one of the principal deities of the Hindu traditions. He is the object of devotion for the Vaishnavas and the preserver of the universe. He has taken physical form as human avatars, such as Rama and Krishna. embodies order. Whenever Vishnu descends to earth to save it from peril, he is known as an avatar[aa-VUH-taar]a divine manifestation on earth. (the Sanskrit[san-SKRIT]the Indian language in which the earliest Hindu hymns, as well as many later scriptures, were composed. A cosmopolitan language used across South and Southeast Asia for centuries, it is the language of numerous Buddhist texts. Buddhist texts known or believed to have been translated from Sanskrit are considered authoritative. word literally means “the one who descends”). His two most popular avatars are Rama[RAA-muh]a major deity, one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. and Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama.. Vishnu, Rama, and Krishna each take many forms, but they usually can be recognized by their dark (blue or black) skin, which is often likened to the color of the cosmos, and their yellow garments.
Around the eighth century CE, a Hindu devotional movement known as bhakti[BHAK-tee]a form of devotion that stresses a personal connection to one’s chosen deity. emerged. The many bhakti traditions emphasize a personal and loving relationship with one’s chosen deity. Krishna, in his form as a beautiful, youthful, and blue-skinned god, became an important focus of bhakti devotion. His conquests of demons, his mischievous childhood, and his numerous flirtations are recounted in sacred books like the Bhagavata Purana[bha-guh-VAAT poo-RA-nuh]composed between the eighth and tenth centuries CE, this important text, which is dedicated to Vishnu, contains a detailed account of Krishna’s life on earth., devotional poems like the Gita Govinda[GEE-tuh go-vin-duh]or “Song of Krishna”; a twelfth-century Sanskrit text written by the Hindu poet Jayadeva. It recounts the stories of Lord Krishna and the gopis., court poetry, folk songs, and, more recently, in films, television series, and video games.
This painting depicts the god Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. when he was about sixteen years old and living on earth in Braj, a village of cowherders in North India. Beneath an arched bower exploding with blossoming creepers and flowers, Krishna, charmingly poised on one foot, entertains the village’s female cowherders (gopis) with entrancing flute music.
The painting cleverly interweaves narrative and symbolic elements. In South Asia, lotuses symbolize purity, beauty, and divinity. Here, we see lotuses depicted in four ways: Krishna stands upon an open blossom, wears a lotus-tipped crown and a bud tucked jauntily into his garment, and has an eye shaped like a pink-tinged lotus petal.
Around 1730, an artist made this painting for a court located in the foothills of the Himalayas. A viewer would have lifted the painting in his or her hand to closely appreciate its details. It was likely once part of a set depicting the ten avatars of Vishnu[VISH-noo]one of the principal deities of the Hindu traditions. He is the object of devotion for the Vaishnavas and the preserver of the universe. He has taken physical form as human avatars, such as Rama and Krishna..
Painted with mineral colors and pure gold on handmade paper, the image expresses the personal relationship of the gopis (who are metaphors for all devotees) with a god who is both transcendent and immanent. Its vibrant colors, particularly the vivid red ground, and the ardently focused gazes of the gopis attest to the powerful currents of emotion connecting the blue-skinned Krishna and his worshipers. The relationship is mutual. While Krishna’s music delights the women, they delight him: one brings grapes, another offers triangle-shaped betel (breath-freshening treats), and the third carries a yak-tailed whisk (which were used to fan important persons).
From the seventeenth century onward, paintings of Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. in the company of worshipful gopis became beloved subjects for artists at India’s many courts. In the late nineteenth century, affordable chromolithographa multicolored print produced by lithography, a method of surface printing combining oil-based ink and water on a stone. This method, invented in the eighteenth century, allowed for the production of multiple copies of prints or posters. posters made the image of the charming teenage Krishna with his flute popular across India. By the twentieth century, Krishna’s images and stories were further circulated through mass-produced media.
Today, Krishna has devotees across all corners of the subcontinent and around the world. In the summer months, the devotees of Krishna—throughout India and in American cities like Boston, Chicago, and Denver—celebrate him during the Festival of Lord Krishna (Ratha Yatra). During this festival, a large murti (devotional image) of Krishna is carried around the community on a chariot. The processions enable devotees to see and be seen by Krishna.
Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama. descended to earth to live in Braj, a cowherders’ village on the banks of the Yamuna River[YAA-moo-nuh]a major river that runs through Tibet, India, and Bangladesh. In Hindu tradition, the Yamuna River is an aspect of the Great Goddess.. How did the painter evoke this bucolic setting?
To create gold paint, Indian painters first ground up pure gold with mortar and pestle. Then, they mixed the powder with water and a natural resin (often gum arabic) to create gold paint. Where on this painting did this artist use the precious material, and why?
Krishna is an avatar[aa-VUH-taar]a divine manifestation on earth. of Vishnu[VISH-noo]one of the principal deities of the Hindu traditions. He is the object of devotion for the Vaishnavas and the preserver of the universe. He has taken physical form as human avatars, such as Rama and Krishna.; he descended to save the earth from dangerous forces. In what other contexts is the Sanskrit[san-SKRIT]the Indian language in which the earliest Hindu hymns, as well as many later scriptures, were composed. A cosmopolitan language used across South and Southeast Asia for centuries, it is the language of numerous Buddhist texts. Buddhist texts known or believed to have been translated from Sanskrit are considered authoritative. term “avatar” used today? What are the similarities and differences between Hindu avatars and video game avatars?
What aspects of the composition are meaningful? Why is Krishna in the center? What frames him? When did the artist purposefully deviate from pure symmetry? Why might he have done so?
The painting is representational, but it is not realistic. What is stylized, and why?
What is an avatar[aa-VUH-taar]a divine manifestation on earth. in the Hindu tradition? What do Hindus believe about avatars?
How does Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama., an avatar of Vishnu[VISH-noo]one of the principal deities of the Hindu traditions. He is the object of devotion for the Vaishnavas and the preserver of the universe. He has taken physical form as human avatars, such as Rama and Krishna., represent a source of belonging and shared devotion for many twenty-first-century Hindus?
This painting depicts Krishna playing his flute for female cowherders, or gopis. Paintings that represent Krishna gracing female cowherders were and remain popular in India. However, in the Indian social hierarchy, village laborers—especially female laborers—are relatively powerless. Why might Hindu bhakti[BHAK-tee]a form of devotion that stresses a personal connection to one’s chosen deity. traditions have positioned gopis as Krishna’s chief devotees?
Cummins, Joan, and Doris Srinivasan. Vishnu[VISH-noo]one of the principal deities of the Hindu traditions. He is the object of devotion for the Vaishnavas and the preserver of the universe. He has taken physical form as human avatars, such as Rama and Krishna.: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior. Grantha, 2011.
Harvard University. “A Context for Diversity.” The Pluralism Project. https://pluralism.org/a-context-for-diversity.
Sethi, Cristin McKnight. “Representations of Krishna[KRISH-nah]a major deity and an avatar of the god Vishnu, considered by some to be of equal or greater importance than Vishnu. The most popular and widely worshiped avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Rama..” Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/representations-krishna/
