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The lovelorn heroine, from a Sat Sai of Bihari

1780–90

Medium: Gum tempera and gold on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Image: 19.3 x 14.2 cm (7 5/8 x 5 9/16 in.); Overall: 26.5 x 21.1 cm (10 7/16 x 8 5/16 in.)
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings 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

The Sat Sai is a poetry collection describing the beauty of women in a range of emotional states. The heroine of this poem sits against a tree that is in full flower. Not coincidentally, her dress matches the color of the blossoms, but no bees come to pollinate. Her lover is absent, and other girls walk by, gossiping.

The oval format was inspired by British art. The scene is from a poem written for a king in northwestern India by an author from eastern India, who was raised in a north Indian city. This painting reveals the movement of art and poets across multiple regions.