The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 14, 2025

Horizontally oriented painting depicting a dense forest in which Krishna, a god with blue skin tone, a gold crown, and a yellow-orange wrap, peaks out from behind branches. He is repeated seven times throughout the forest. In a small, grassy clearing in the upper right, Rhada and her confidante, both women with light skin tones, sit facing each other. The trees have defined leaves in green shades, some with white, pink, yellow, or red blossoms.

Krishna's Longing for Radha, from the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva

c. 1820–25

India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Kangra, Lambagraon

Gum tempera and gold on paper
Image: 24.1 x 32.4 cm (9 1/2 x 12 3/4 in.); with mat: 40.6 x 53.2 cm (16 x 20 15/16 in.); with borders: 25.6 x 33.8 cm (10 1/16 x 13 5/16 in.)
Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1989.333
Location: Not on view

Description

In the lush forests on the banks of India’s Yamuna River, the youthful god Krishna waits to rendezvous with his beloved Radha. The artist has rendered his impatience by showing seven Krishnas, in various attitudes of anxious waiting, as though seeing him over a period of time. Meanwhile Radha, dressed in yellow at top right, confers seemingly endlessly with her confidante, as she tries to decide whether she should meet Krishna for the illicit tryst—she is already married and Krishna is prone to flirting with other girls. This scene is a metaphor for how god waits for us to come to him, while the human devotee frets about the bonds of social norms.
  • Raja of Lambagraon
    (Mr. B. R. Sharma, New Delhi, India)
    ?–1989
    Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1989–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990. Mentioned: cat. no. 157
    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. 36, cat. no. 15
  • Supernatural Love - Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 1-September 9, 2019).
    Artlens Exhibition 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24, 2017-May 29, 2019).
    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).
    The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
  • {{cite web|title=Krishna's Longing for Radha, from the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva|url=false|author=|year=c. 1820–25|access-date=14 November 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.333