Cleveland Museum of Art

Krishna’s longing for Radha, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva

Date: c. 1820–25
Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 154753

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

In the lush forests on the banks of India’s Yamuna River, the youthful god Krishna waits to rendezvous with his beloved Radha. The artist has rendered his impatience by showing seven Krishnas, in various attitudes of anxious waiting, as though seeing him over a period of time. Meanwhile Radha, dressed in yellow at top right, confers seemingly endlessly with her confidante, as she tries to decide whether she should meet Krishna for the illicit tryst—she is already married and Krishna is prone to flirting with other girls. This scene is a metaphor for how god waits for us to come to him, while the human devotee frets about the bonds of social norms.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
Provenance: Raja of Lambagraon | (Mr. B. R. Sharma, New Delhi, India) | ?–1989: Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1989–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH