The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Girls Spraying Each Other at Holi

Girls Spraying Each Other at Holi

c. 1640–50
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 19 x 12.5 cm (7 1/2 x 4 15/16 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1971.83
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The sandstone cascade at the top of the page propels water through the garden channels.

Description

The antics of Holi, the festival of spring, are in full tilt in this scene that takes place in the women's quarters of a palace. Most of the women have already been stained with the red and yellow colors that they squirt and smear on one another to the beat of handheld drums and a lively song. In a composition repeated from an imperial Mughal scene, one woman aggressively and playfully has another in a headlock and pours red liquid down her blouse. The princely state of Bikaner had close ties with the Mughal court, and some of its artists were familiar with Mughal painting, as is evident in the rendering of the garden and the figures.
  • ?-1971
    John D. MacDonald, Cambridge, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1971-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 37
    Diamond, Debra. "Holi in the Zenana: Genre, Style and Sociability." In A Magic World: New Visions of Indian Painting. Molly Emma Aitken, 100-115. Mumbai, India: Published by Radhika Sabavala for the Marg Foundation, 2016. Reproduced: pp. 2, 104, fig. 5
  • Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 28-November 2, 2015).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 18, 2004-May 23, 2005).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 13, 2003-February 18, 2004).
    Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-December 8, 1996).
  • {{cite web|title=Girls Spraying Each Other at Holi|url=false|author=|year=c. 1640–50|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.83