The heroine who waits anxiously for her absent lover (Utka Nayika)

c. 1800

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium

Gum tempera on paper

Measurements

Image: 16 x 10.2 cm (6 5/16 x 4 in.); Overall: 23.8 x 14.8 cm (9 3/8 x 5 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1932.118

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Location

242B Indian Painting

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Did You Know?

Utka Nayika is often shown standing or resting on a bed of leaves.

Description

Night has fallen. Love, moonlight, stars, and jasmine give the heroine the courage to face its dangers, but with a heightened sense of worry. Rain clouds approach, and the artist communicates her anxiety with nervous hand gestures and restless feet. She arranged a bed of leaves, but there is still no sign of her lover.

Pale colors, distant cityscapes, and wooded settings became popular in Pahari paintings of the late 1700s. Her long legs and eyes, as well as the proportions of her round head distinguish most Pahari paintings of this period.