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Krishna and Balarama touching the feet of Vasudeva and Devaki, from the “Vertical” Bhagavata Purana
c. 1700–1725
- Medium
- Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Page: 28.5 x 21.6 cm (11 1/4 x 8 1/2 in.); Image: 24.3 x 16.5 cm (9 9/16 x 6 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This intensely emotional scene depicts the reunion of the blue-skinned god Krishna with his parents for the first time since the night of his birth. The stark white expanse of wall that fills most of the composition evokes the desolate years of separation during which time his parents were in prison. According to the story, Krishna and his half-brother, the white-skinned Balarama, have just slain a wicked king and freed his parents. Nevertheless, they all wear fine garments and ornaments. The artist elected to emphasize the appearance of good fortune over realism, signaling to the viewer that this is a happy reunion.
