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Radha's hair being dressed

c. 1790–1800

Medium: Gum tempera with touches of color on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Image: 25 x 17 cm (9 13/16 x 6 11/16 in.); Overall: 29.7 x 20.3 cm (11 11/16 x 8 in.)
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Edward L. Whittemore Fund
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this work

Radha appears in the center, applying an ornament in the mirror. She and her friends do not realize that Krishna is watching from a second-story window. Her attendants hold up a curtain to give her privacy, while others fix her hair, hold the mirror, whisk away the flies, and bring her drinks. In the background, musicians carry instruments for a performance. This drawing is probably a study for a finished painting rather than an underdrawing that was meant to be painted over, due to the care and attention given to the fine details and expressions.