Posted on: 26 July 2010

Head of Krishna, ca. 1800
Attributed to Sahib RamIndia (Rajasthan, Jaipur)
Cartoon for a mural depicting the Rasalila (Circle dance of Krishna and the gopis)
Ink and watercolors on paper

As it had been in the preceding century, painting in Amber/Jaipur during the eighteenth century continued to be heavily influenced by Mughal aesthetics, and many of the artists employed at the court were Muslims. (The state previously called Amber has been known as Jaipur ever since its new capital city of that name was founded in 1727 by Jai Singh II.) Comparatively few paintings from Jaipur are in Western collections because the royal collection, unlike those of many other Rajasthani courts, was never dispersed. Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, who came to the throne in 1784, was a great patron of art whose atelier housed more than twenty artists. Perhaps the finest painter was Sahib Ram, a Muslim active at Jaipur through the second half of the eighteenth century. His masterpiece was a mural painting of Radha and Krishna dancing, for which this is a preparatory study. Murals had adorned Indian buildings beginning at least in the Mughal period, although most are now lost or inaccessible for viewing. This drawing, which was pricked, probably to allow its image to be transferred to the palace wall, is a reminder of an important category of Indian art.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


 View Post on Facebook

Comments from Facebook

Awesome....loved to go through it.

HEAD OF KRISHNA ? is this some kind of a joke ? This is over evidently a woman's bust! LOL

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/18.85.2

this is one of the Gopis, it cant be Krishna, The Blouse, the hair and the hair, also the earrings all testify that its a female.

*the hair, the eyes

yeah...the collection is called Head of Krishna...but on the link you can zoom to the pic...it simply displays the dancing of gopi i believe but idk? :)

ohhh....if the collection is called Head of Krishna, and not the specific painting, then thats ok, since this IS a dancing Gopi.

hehe...yeah! :P

am lovin the merry go round

lol!

;)~

Aint he irresistible?

reminds of "family feud" between rani and tikka :) :) to tikka's point, the title of THIS photo on this FB page says "head of krishna", i think that should be modified to at least say "A Gopi, from the book 'head of krishna'" or something like that. Rare Books, it is possible to edit the pic caption anytime. maybe you should update it.

I think its best you guys decide for yourself.... : ) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/18.85.2

tikka ji knows this history way better than me...he is related to lord ram thru son kush, thus kachwaha is pronounced kushwaha @shashi... no feuds hehe we friends...:)

@helle...yep! :)

Rani : With due respect....you cant be serious ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachwaha The History of Rajputs and all of India is very fascinating to me, love reading about and seeing the wonderful pics/books you post as well, especially .pdf books!!...:)

Love that attitude !.... : )

Oh, and so you know I am not related to Tikka ji...he is *Rajput such as in above link...I may have some ties to Roma gypsies so would like also to read more about these...:)

@ RBSI, i dont see the joke, maybe you really do need to read the Kachhwaha History and origins

mesianical issues ahead!!!

@Tikka Rajkumar ji... I <3 Rajputana! @RBSI...here's de link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachwaha There are genealogical links near bottom of page, such as Mirza Raja Man Singh I (1589-1614) is on Tikka ji's direct lineage, this no joke he is who he is! :)

Oh...there is no sarcasm here! I like the attitude of India lovers and I respect the historical legends of every family.

Every Indian family has its own tradition and culture weaving into the totality of Indian culture, that is unique.

Krishna was and will always remain effeminate; whether he is the object of Radha's attention, Meera's devotion or Arjuna's salvation. Rarely we find a name that adorns both makes and females in India. Krishna is such a name.

Remember reading somewhere that Krishna was the embodiment of the male and the female.

all my ear friends were right in their own sences.but yes some have failed to notice that this portion is from a mural depicting the ras lila,where it is not unusual for radharani to be dressed in krisna's garments,or it can be simply a gopika.

awesome...