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  • Additional view of object
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Dec 26, 2019
Mar 21, 2014
Mar 21, 2014
Dec 26, 2019
Dec 26, 2019

The Heroine Who Waits Anxiously for Her Absent Lover (Utka Nayika)

The Heroine Who Waits Anxiously for Her Absent Lover (Utka Nayika)

c. 1800

Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Kangra

Gum tempera on and paper

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.)

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1932.118

Location

not on view

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Description

Inspired by devotional poetry that likens the waiting for divine favor to that of a woman alone in the forest waiting for her lover, Pahari painters mastered portrayals of this subject. Darkness has fallen, but the moon and stars and jasmine flowers brighten the night. However, monsoon clouds approach in the distance, suggesting impending danger and misery. Her gesture and expression suggest a mixture of hope and heightened uncertainty about how much longer she should continue to wait.

See also
Collection: 
Indian Art
Department: 
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Type of artwork: 
Painting
Medium: 
Gum tempera on and paper
Credit line: 
Edward L. Whittemore Fund

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