The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 19, 2026

A book page features scenes in red, blue, yellow, and black across two horizontal bands, populated with people with light skin tones and the blue skinned god Pradyumna and his wife Rukmavati repeated three times. In the upper band, they ride in a chariot and marry under a canopy. In the lower, they ride in a chariot facing two people riding horses. The paper is worn and cracked around the edges.

The Marriage of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, page from a Bhagavata Purana

c. 1525–40

Northern India

Gum tempera and ink on paper
Overall: 16.3 x 21.5 cm (6 7/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski 1976.26
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Pradyumna was the son of Krishna and an incarnation of the god of love.

Description

Like his father Krishna, Pradyumna appears blue in color. He is shown three times in this painting with his bride. The scene of his marriage is in the upper level where a Brahmin, a Hindu priest, to the right of the pole and wearing a white lower garment and looped topknot of hair, performs the ceremony. Their arrival at the ceremony is pictured below. The flattened spaces and bold variety of background colors are typical of a major strain of Indian paintings made before the time of the Mughal emperor Akbar, who encouraged stylistic changes derived from exposure to Persian and European art forms.
  • ?–1976
    Dr. Norman Zaworski [1920–2013], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1976–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Indian Painting of the 1500s: Continuities and Transformations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15, 2025-January 11, 2026).
    Supernatural Love - Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 1-September 9, 2019).
    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).
    Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=The Marriage of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, page from a Bhagavata Purana|url=false|author=|year=c. 1525–40|access-date=19 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.26