Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna Fluting
- Date
- c. 1675–1700
- Medium
- Gum tempera on paper
- Culture
- Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Bundi
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Brilliantly set off against a flat red ground, Krishna’s blue body is the focus of the brown cow, lured to the god by the melody of his flute. Even the plantain and cypress trees seem to point in his direction. The figural style of the artists of this Rajput kingdom effortlessly shows the head turned in one direction, while the feet point the opposite way, contributing to Krishna’s superhuman appearance. Below, a herdsman struggles to manage a spotted cow in front of a temple with a linga, a stylized phallic form that identifies the presence of the Hindu god Shiva. This fluting scene refers to Krishna’s coming of age as a cowherd.
The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.
Krishna summoning the cows
Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna Fluting for the Gopis
Art Institute of Chicago
Krishna Steals the Clothes of the Milkmaids and Expounds on the Virtue of Trees, from a Braj Bhagavata Purana
Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna returns with the cowherds to Braj, from a Bhagavata Purana
Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna and Consort on a Palace Balcony with Musicians: Vukharo Ragaputra of Bhairav, from the “Boston Ragamala”
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cowherd women seek the God Krishna in the forest
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan
Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna’s longing for Radha, from a Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) of Jayadeva
Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna celebrates Holi
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cow Suckling a Calf
Art Institute of Chicago
Krishna Exacts a Toll from the Milkmaids: Dana-Lila, from a Bhagavata Purana
Cleveland Museum of Art
Krishna Kills the Crane Demon, Illustration from a Bhagavata Purana Series
Minneapolis Institute of Art