id:			314115
accession number:	2018.85
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.85
updated:		2023-03-22 03:05:18.099000

Krishna and Balarama Touching the Feet of Vasudeva and Devaki, 1700–1725. Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Chamba. Gum tempera, gold and silver on paper; page: 28.5 x 21.6 cm (11 1/4 x 8 1/2 in.); image: 24.3 x 16.5 cm (9 9/16 x 6 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.85

title:				Krishna and Balarama Touching the Feet of Vasudeva and Devaki
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1700–1725
creation date earliest:		1700
creation date latest:		1725
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Chamba
technique:	Gum tempera, gold and silver on paper
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Page: 28.5 x 21.6 cm (11 1/4 x 8 1/2 in.); Image: 24.3 x 16.5 cm (9 9/16 x 6 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	vāsudeve tatha devakīyā de pera baṃdadā hoyā
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Indian Gallery 242 Rotation
	opening date:   2018-09-10T04:00:00
	<i>Indian Gallery 242 Rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 10, 2018-April 7, 2019).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?–2018
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2018–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Krishna and Balarama wear a ring of bells on each foot.

digital description:
In front of a massive white architectural facade, Krishna and Balarama offer veneration to their parents. Krishna kneels in the position of supplication, humbly reaching out to touch the foot of his father, Vasudeva. Balarama stands behind his older brother, exhibiting reverence by clasping his hands. Their mother extends her arm toward Krishna and Balarama to recognize her sons’ gestures.

wall description:
In the life story of the Hindu god Krishna, he incarnated himself on earth in order to defeat Kamsa, an evil despot. Kamsa had heard a prophecy that his sister Devaki’s child would slay him, so he imprisoned her and murdered any child she bore. The night she gave birth to Krishna, her husband Vasudeva snuck him out during a rainstorm to be raised in a village as the child of a cowherd family.<br>This poignant scene shows the blue-skinned Krishna and his foster brother the white Balarama years later, reunited with his birth parents for the first time, having just slain Kamsa. Emotional depth is rendered through the direction of their unblinking gazes, evocative gestures, and subtle positioning of figures in relation to one another.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.85/2018.85_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.85/2018.85_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.85/2018.85_full.tif