Sacred Art & Iconography

Radha and Krishna (Victoria and Albert Museum, IS.129-1949)

Hindu Art

A Pahari painting in opaque watercolour on paper, probably from the Kangra school in the Punjab Hills, showing Radha and Krishna sheltering together beneath a tree as a storm gathers overhead, both figures gesturing toward the darkening clouds. The storm-cloud meeting is one of the most repeated subjects of Kangra painting's romantic vision of the pair, read as an image of intimate refuge and of the divine lovers' constancy through the seasons. Dated to the early twentieth century, it exemplifies the school's elongated figures, almond eyes and lyrical attention to foliage and weather, and is held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, viewable by appointment.

Facts

Origins

Creation

1900 to 1930 1

Date of Creation

Early 20th century 1

Country

India 1

Region

Punjab Hills, probably Kangra 1

Classification

Object Typethe subject's own account

Painting 2

Subject Matter

Depicted Subject

Radha and Krishna sheltering beneath a tree from an approaching storm, both gesturing toward the gathering rain clouds. 1

Rights and Reproduction

Reproduction and Copyrightthe subject's own account

This painting is out of copyright, but a specific modern photograph of it carries its own separate copyright. This atlas describes and cites the work rather than reproducing an image of it. 2

Physical Form

Medium

Opaque watercolour on paper 1

Dimensions

Image 276 x 189 mm; page 305 x 220 mm 1

Custody

Current Location

Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London (accession IS.129-1949) 1

Current Custodian

Victoria and Albert Museum 1

Medium (class)the subject's own account

Painting (general) 2

Connections

Associated With

Radha

This source names Radha directly: "school in the Punjab Hills, showing Radha and Krishna sheltering together beneath a tree as a storm gathers overhead, both figures gesturing toward the darkening clouds."