Artwork Page for Yasoda with Krishna Churning Butter

Details / Information for Yasoda with Krishna Churning Butter

Yasoda with Krishna Churning Butter

c. 1890

Eastern India, Kolkata, Kalighat

Medium
Gum tempera, ink, graphite, and tin on paper
Measurements
Secondary Support: 51.3 x 35.6 cm (20 3/16 x 14 in.); Painting only: 45 x 27.8 cm (17 11/16 x 10 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.160
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The Hindu god Krishna eats butter, like the sacrificial fire into which Brahman priests pour ghee.

Description

Yashoda, wife of the head of the cowherd village, raised Krishna from infancy. She is shown here churning milk into butter, while the mischievous toddler Krishna tips his hand in the pot to steal the rich cream. Kalighat paintings were made for pilgrims to take home and keep on domestic shrines. Made swiftly on inexpensive paper, they are a genre of art available to a wide swath of people.
A vertically oriented gum tempera and ink painting on fragmented paper depicts Yasoda, a woman with medium skin, and Krishna, a dark-skinned child. Yasoda stands on our right, pulling a cord while wearing a striped skirt and red sari with silver-colored lines. To our left, Krishna stands beside a yellow pot. Bold, illustrative lines define their forms against the cream paper. Bengali script marks the top, while the paper's edges are torn and uneven.

Yasoda with Krishna Churning Butter

c. 1890

Eastern India, Kolkata, Kalighat

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