The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Krishna Fluting

Krishna Fluting

c. 1675–1700
Gum tempera on paper
Page: 21.9 x 14.3 cm (8 5/8 x 5 5/8 in.); Miniature: 17.2 x 9.5 cm (6 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.157
Location: not on view

Description

Brilliantly set off against a flat red ground, Krishna’s blue body is the focus of the brown cow, lured to the god by the melody of his flute. Even the plantain and cypress trees seem to point in his direction. The figural style of the artists of this Rajput kingdom effortlessly shows the head turned in one direction, while the feet point the opposite way, contributing to Krishna’s superhuman appearance.

Below, a herdsman struggles to manage a spotted cow in front of a temple with a linga, a stylized phallic form that identifies the presence of the Hindu god Shiva. This fluting scene refers to Krishna’s coming of age as a cowherd.
  • –2018
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2018–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Krishna and the Path of Grace – Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 14, 2020-March 7, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Krishna Fluting|url=false|author=|year=c. 1675–1700|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.157