KRISHNA AND RADHA CELEBRATING HOLI

INDIA, RAJASTHAN, NATHDWARA, CIRCA 1880

Details

KRISHNA AND RADHA CELEBRATING HOLI
INDIA, RAJASTHAN, NATHDWARA, CIRCA 1880
Krishna and Radha stand with color-filled trays in a palace courtyard throwing red color at each other, gopas and gopis behind them as some fill their syringes with red-colored water from troughs, court ladies watching from the balconies while deities seated in their vehicles in the sky above shower the revellers with flowers, within gold ruled lines and brown borders with gold floral decoration, inscribed in the lower border in gold devanagari script Chitara Bhimraj Parmanand Nathji dwar ("by the artist Bhimraj Parmanand Nathdwara").
opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper
19 3/8 x 26 3/8 in. (49 x 67 cm.)

Provenance

P81.062: Christie's London, 23 April 1981, lot 35.
Offered at Sotheby's New York, Important Indian Miniatures from the Paul F. Walter Collection, 14 November 2002, lot 38.

Literature

P. Pal et al., Dancing to the Flute, Sydney, 1997, p.95, no. 42b

Lot Essay

The artist Bhimraj Parmanand was active in the second half of the nineteenth century and was one of the more popular artists working at the pilgrimage site of Nathdwara. Krishna as Shrinathji holding up the Govardhan mountain, dancing with Radha and the gopis, and celebrating various festivals in different costumes were common themes with artists in Nathdwara. Nathdwara paintings are known for their vibrant palette, in particular the bright reds and the acid greens. The multi-storied buildings and domed balconies in the background are typical of Rajasthani architecture. For other paintings, which may be by the hand of Bhimraj Parmanand, see Christie’s London, 23 April 1981, lots 36 and 38.
Compare the present lot with a picchvai depicting Krishna or Shrinathji playing Holi which sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 19 September 2008, lot 251.

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