Krishna and Radha

Becharam Das Dutta

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Krishna is represented here as the flute playing Lord, Venugopal, charming his lover the gopi (cow-maid) Radha with sweet music. The lovers are seen standing together on a golden dais in an interior framed by drawn curtains, a setting somewhat suggestive of stage and photographic studio settings. A pair of gopis attend them. This much favored subject is more typically situated in a forest glade, the setting for Krishna and Radha’s tryst. The romantic encounter of the divine Krishna and the mortal cow-maid fueled Vaishnava devotional texts, especially in the early modern period. Bengal experienced a renaissance of devotional literature from the 15th century onwards that celebrated this expression of divine passion, the writings in turn finding expression in a variety of visual art forms.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art