- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Description
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Beneath an arched bower exploding with blossoming creepers and flowers, Krishna, charmingly poised on one foot, entertains attentively adoring gopis with music from his flute. The painting’s vibrant colors, particularly the vivid red ground, and the ardently focused gazes of the lotus-eyed gopis attest to the powerful currents of emotion connecting the blue-skinned Krishna and his devotees. As an allusion to his divine status, the artist represented Krishna standing upon an open lotus flower that rests on a marble throne inlaid with precious gems. The vines encircling the tree trunks are a visual instantiation of a well-attested metaphor for the relationship between a woman (vine) and her lover (tree).
- Label
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This folio is one in a series (dasavatara) illustrating the ten avatars of Vishnu. Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Vishnu; his exploits are described in the Mahabharata, the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana, and numerous other poems and poetic treatises from the Gita Govinda to the Sur Sagar.
- Published References
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- Joan Cummins. Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior. Exh. cat. no. 106, p. 94.
- American Collectors of Asian Art. Bombay. no. 2, p. 208.
- Collection Area(s)
- South Asian and Himalayan Art
- CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
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This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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