Krishna Returns to Nanda’s House at Dusk

late 19th century

Not on view

On loan to The Met

This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.

This unfinished drawing is a full-scale cartoon for a section of an altar hanging (picchavai) for a shrine devoted to Krishna as Shri Brijnathji Vallabha. The rendering of turreted palace architecture links the drawing to Rajasthani images from Udaipur, while the stylized depiction of the women reflects the ideals of feminine beauty as celebrated in eighteenth-century Kishangarh painting. The scene depicts the moment at dusk known as “cowdust hour,” when the herds and their minders return from the fields accompanied by Krishna, whose arrival is eagerly awaited by an assembly of young women. The cows are drawn with great sensitivity, their dewy eyes evoking sweet contentment. This finished picchavai was intended to be displayed during the celebration of Sandaya Arati, the offering of light to honor the deity in the summer month of Shravan, in late July–August.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

References

Title: Krishna Returns to Nanda’s House at Dusk
Date: late 19th century
Culture: India, Rajasthan, Nathdwara
Medium: Watercolor, ink and charcoal on paper
Dimensions: Image: 19 5/16 × 47 5/8 in. (49 × 121 cm)
Framed: 26 3/4 × 53 7/8 × 1 1/4 in. (67.9 × 136.8 × 3.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Howard Hodgkin Collection, on loan from the Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust
Object Number: L.2022.30.23
Curatorial Department: Asian Art