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Lot Essay
Keshavdas, a Brahmin in Bundelkhand, was the court poet of Raja Madhukar Shah of Orchha. He wrote his famous love poem Rasikapriya in 1591 AD. The Rasikapriya seems to have been a favorite with Kangra patrons. Several nayaka - nayika paintings from Kangra depicting Krishna and Radha, the ideal lovers, are based on and inscribed with the texts of the Rasikapriya. The style of painting and the colors employed by Kangra artists for these depictions of love and longing manage to convincingly convey the richness and sweetness inherent in the lyrical texts of Keshavdas.
The present scene depicts the lovers Krishna and Radha seated with one another on a terrace, lost in each other’s gaze. Inscribed “an involuntary expression of emotion,” the painting refers to the eight involuntary expressions of emotions as described by Keshav Das: stupor, trembli8ng, speechlessness, pallor, tearfulness, perspiration, thrill and fainting (M.S. Randhawa, Kangra Paintings on Love, New Delhi, 1962,p. 51). Two sakhis are depicted in the lower corner of the scene, the reverse of folio detailing their conversation as one sakhi warning the other to not come between their divine union:
Foolish girl! Abandon all your desires and do not get your heart on fire. Radha and Krishna are the ideal romantic couple, better than Rati and Kama. Even Parvati cannot sow discord between them, and it would be foolish of Saraswati to come in between them. The two of them are of the same mind, they share the same thoughts and have one breath. They may appear two in body but are united by their eyes. 15.9
The now dispersed Kangra Rasikapriya series from which this painting originates is a large series speculated to have included as many as 200 folios. Several artists from the workshop of Purkhu, including the master artist himself, contributed to paintings in the set. There are now fourteen paintings from the Kangra Rasikapriya in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc. nos. IM.74-1912, I.M.156-1914, I.M.157-1914, and I.S.43-1949 through I.S. 52-1949) and two paintings in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (acc. nos. 1965-26-1 and 1965-26-2). Other illustrations from this series have sold at Bonhams New York on 19 March 2012, lot 1186, 14 March 2016, lot 107 and 16 March 2021, lot 338; at Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2013, lots 311, 315 and 318; and at Christie's London, 25 May 2017, lots 74-78, 2 May 2019, lots 92, 93 and 95, and 26 June 2020, lots 9, 28, 30, and 67-69. Most recently a painting from this series sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2023, lot 371 for $37,800.
The present scene depicts the lovers Krishna and Radha seated with one another on a terrace, lost in each other’s gaze. Inscribed “an involuntary expression of emotion,” the painting refers to the eight involuntary expressions of emotions as described by Keshav Das: stupor, trembli8ng, speechlessness, pallor, tearfulness, perspiration, thrill and fainting (M.S. Randhawa, Kangra Paintings on Love, New Delhi, 1962,p. 51). Two sakhis are depicted in the lower corner of the scene, the reverse of folio detailing their conversation as one sakhi warning the other to not come between their divine union:
Foolish girl! Abandon all your desires and do not get your heart on fire. Radha and Krishna are the ideal romantic couple, better than Rati and Kama. Even Parvati cannot sow discord between them, and it would be foolish of Saraswati to come in between them. The two of them are of the same mind, they share the same thoughts and have one breath. They may appear two in body but are united by their eyes. 15.9
The now dispersed Kangra Rasikapriya series from which this painting originates is a large series speculated to have included as many as 200 folios. Several artists from the workshop of Purkhu, including the master artist himself, contributed to paintings in the set. There are now fourteen paintings from the Kangra Rasikapriya in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc. nos. IM.74-1912, I.M.156-1914, I.M.157-1914, and I.S.43-1949 through I.S. 52-1949) and two paintings in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (acc. nos. 1965-26-1 and 1965-26-2). Other illustrations from this series have sold at Bonhams New York on 19 March 2012, lot 1186, 14 March 2016, lot 107 and 16 March 2021, lot 338; at Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2013, lots 311, 315 and 318; and at Christie's London, 25 May 2017, lots 74-78, 2 May 2019, lots 92, 93 and 95, and 26 June 2020, lots 9, 28, 30, and 67-69. Most recently a painting from this series sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2023, lot 371 for $37,800.