PaintingsIndian19th century

Shrinathji in a Shrine Attended by Radha

c. 1850

Description

Underneath a large archway of a shrine is Shrinathji, a form of the Hindu god Krishna, who himself is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Shrinathji is depicted with his iconic dark blue skin and pose. He wears an orange turban with a large gold ornament; strands of pearls; a nose ring; bracelets; armlets; a large white garland; a red scarf; a red dhoti, a garment worn by male Hindus that consists of a piece of fabric tied around the waist and extending to cover most of the legs, and a yellow waist sash (patka) with flared ends. His right arm is raised with his left is in front of his chest. A long-stemmed flower with buds peeks from behind his left shoulder. In a smaller archway is his consort, Radha. She is also depicted with dark blue skin. She wears a red shawl that partially covers her head, a red sari with white and yellow dots, strands of pearls, bracelets, armlets, and anklets. The style in which the painting is executed, with the yellow and white dots, was a popular local idiom that also parallels textile patterns in the area of Nathadwara.

Classification

Paintings

Medium

Pigment on cloth

Culture

Indian

Century

19th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

18.4 x 13.9 cm (7 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.)

Provenance

[Popli Brothers], Apollo Bunder Road, Bombay (Mumbai) (December 29, 1953). Purchase by L.C. and P. Wyman, American couple; gift to Art Complex Museum, 189 Alden Street, Duxbury (1960s); purchase by Kathy Burton Jones [Norman Hurst], Hurst Gallery, 53 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge (2004); gift to Harvard Art Museum (2009).