Artwork Page for Baby Krishna Asking for Butter from Yashoda, from a Kalighat album

Details / Information for Baby Krishna Asking for Butter from Yashoda, from a Kalighat album

Baby Krishna Asking for Butter from Yashoda, from a Kalighat album

c. 1890

Eastern India, Kolkata, Kalighat

Medium
Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
Measurements
Secondary Support: 48 x 30 cm (18 7/8 x 11 13/16 in.); Painting only: 45.7 x 28 cm (18 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.112
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Kalighat artists made metallic pigment out of tin to look like silver.

Description

As the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, whose followers recognize as the deity who creates and destroys the universe, Krishna was always eating. Like time itself, which ultimately consumes everything, Krishna eats so much his foster mother Yashoda cannot believe it. When she looks in his mouth, she sees the cosmos and realizes he is not an ordinary baby.
A vertically oriented gum tempera and graphite painting depicts two figures against a pale background. On the left, a woman in a dark blue veil and red striped skirt stands facing right. Occupying the lower right, a blue-skinned baby kneels on a green platform, reaching toward her. A red parasol hangs in the upper center, a peacock feather crowning the baby's head. Bold black outlines define the figures.

Baby Krishna Asking for Butter from Yashoda, from a Kalighat album

c. 1890

Eastern India, Kolkata, Kalighat

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