The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in the forest
c. 1830
(reigned 1823–1833)
Painting: 21.5 x 15.1 cm (8 7/16 x 5 15/16 in.); Overall: 23.9 x 17.3 cm (9 7/16 x 6 13/16 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Indian artists adopted the oval format from European models.Description
Although banished from their home, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana enjoy ten years of relative peace in the wilderness. They build a small hut, make clothes of bark cloth, and eat from the bounty of the forest. Lakshmana neatly prepares meat and roasts kabobs over a fire.The oval format, adopted from European models, suggests this scene was part of an album series. The pale hues and placement of figures in a space that recedes into the background reveal awareness of imperial Mughal paintings. The hilly scenery was likely inspired by the landscape surrounding the Kangra Valley.
- ?–1966(C. L. Bharany, Sunder Nagar Market, New Delhi, India, sold to Severance and Greta Millikin)1966–1989Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–89], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1989–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990. Reproduced: p. 88, cat. no. 158
- Imagining Rama’s Journey. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 10-September 17, 2023).Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 13, 2003-February 17, 2004).The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
- {{cite web|title=Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in the forest|url=false|author=|year=c. 1830|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.332