Untitled

Unknown

ca. 1750 · Ink and opaque watercolor on paper · Asian Art

In this idealized portrait of Krishna's beloved, Radha, her features reflect metaphors of beauty found in Sanskrit literature: eye like a lotus flower, eyebrow like a bow, chin like a mango stone and sharp nose like a parrot's beak. This stylization stands in sharp contrast to the Mughal-influenced style, which had flourished in the small kingdom of Kishangarh two decades earlier, and demonstrates the radical aesthetic departures of the court painter Nihal Chand, who developed a distinctive "Rajput" style for his patron.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1750

Medium

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper

Culture

India (Rajasthan, Kishangarh)

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky Fund, 2005