Krishna and Radha
Not on view
Krishna is represented here as the flute playing Lord, Venugopal, charming his lover the gopi (cow-maid) Radha with sweet music. The lovers are seen standing together on a golden dais in an interior framed by drawn curtains, a setting somewhat suggestive of stage and photographic studio settings. A pair of gopis attend them. This much favored subject is more typically situated in a forest glade, the setting for Krishna and Radha’s tryst. The romantic encounter of the divine Krishna and the mortal cow-maid fueled Vaishnava devotional texts, especially in the early modern period. Bengal experienced a renaissance of devotional literature from the 15th century onwards that celebrated this expression of divine passion, the writings in turn finding expression in a variety of visual art forms.
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