Folio from a Gita Govinda
By a master of the first generation after Nainsukh
India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, ca. 1775–1780
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
17.4 x 27.5 cm
Gift of Mr. Paul F. Walter
Freer Gallery of Art
F2005.7
In the Himalayan foothills, artists were trained within their families. A son or nephew of the artist Nainsukh made this elegant painting. It represents the emotion of a verse from the Gita Govinda (Love Song of the Dark Lord), a lyrical Sanskrit poem that celebrates all the stages of love between the god Krishna and his beloved Radha. In this scene, Radha has gone to meet Krishna, only to find herself alone. She gazes toward a still river and bare slopes—an empty landscape that conveys her lonely thoughts. It is also the landscape of the Kangra Valley, the serenely beautiful location of many of Amit Dutta’s films, among them Gita Govinda and Nainsukh.
In Nainsukh, Amit Dutta breathes new life into the painter’s old creations, reviving the intimacy of the grand worlds of the past through the time-defying medium of cinema. You can stream it here.
Dutta’s short film Gita Govinda employs audio cues and a virtuosic collage style to bring the dynamic compositions by Nainsukh’s artistic heirs to life. You can stream it here.