The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 16, 2025

Akrura Drives Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, from the “Isarda Bhagavata Purana”

c. 1560–70
Gum tempera and ink on paper
Overall: 19.3 x 25.7 cm (7 5/8 x 10 1/8 in.); with mat: 36.3 x 49 cm (14 5/16 x 19 5/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1971.234
Location: 242B Indian Painting

Description

A page from a Hindu manuscript shows the dark-skinned Krishna and his white-skinned brother leaving their companions in the cowherd village where they grew up. They are on their way to confront their evil uncle who killed their siblings and imprisoned their parents. Their gestures urgently indicate the direction of their journey. A preference for the color pink in the sky, chariot, and garments distinguishes this work from those of pre-Mughal creation.
  • ?–1971
    (N. V. Hammer, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1971–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 303 archive.org
    Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986.
    Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 27, cat. no. 6
  • Indian Painting of the 1500s: Continuities and Transformations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 2025-January 11, 2026).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 20-August 18, 2004).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4-August 5, 2003).
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
  • {{cite web|title=Akrura Drives Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, from the “Isarda Bhagavata Purana”|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560–70|access-date=16 May 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.234