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Krishna Fluting for the Gopis

A work made of opaque watercolor, gold and tin alloy on paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of opaque watercolor, gold and tin alloy on paper.

Date:

Late 18th or early 19th century

Artist:

India
Rajasthan, Jodhpur

About this artwork

In a lush grove traversed by a silver stream filled with leaping fish and blooming lotuses, the blue-skinned Krishna woos his devoted gopis (female cowherds) by playing music on his bansuri (bamboo flute). The gopis’ infatuation with Krishna serves as a metaphor for the unconditional attachment (bhakti) of a devotee to their lord. Through personal adoration, they can attain union with the supreme deity. The theme of devotion is echoed in the pairs of waterfowl clustered around the river bank in the foreground. The painting’s large format and thumbprint foliage are characteristic of Jodhpur, capital of the erstwhile kingdom of Marwar in present-day Rajasthan and home to one of the distinguished traditions of Rajput painting.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Krishna Fluting for the Gopis

Place

Jodhpur (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1750–1800

Medium

Opaque watercolor, gold and tin alloy on paper

Dimensions

65 × 49.2 cm (25 5/8 × 19 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf

Reference Number

2014.1193

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/131815/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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