Krishna and Radha with Gopis in a Thunderstorm, a Rajasthani miniature, 1700's-1800's

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"18th/19th Century. Rajasthani School. "Radha and Krishna." Vegetable dyes, tempera and gold on paper. 13 x 17 1/2 inches.

The foreboding overcast sky, which only an Indian monsoon can cast, brings Krishna and his troupe in the foreground into a color-splaterred visual relief. A canopy of lush trees protects them against the elements. Each leaf in the tree is painted individually and outlined in gold. Monkeys frolick , peacocks dart and cows chew languidly. Nature seems to celebrate in Krishna's presence. The eleven women who flank Radha and Krishna are garbed in traditonal vibrant Rajasthani clothes speckled with gold leaf which is freely used throughout the painting. The overall impression is a splatter of a tiered, frozen rainbow set against a dark, gold laced turbulent sky and encapsulated by an animate and  floral turquoise border which gives a perfect closure to the painting.

The center of the painting described above is fresh and intact. The border has  some damage: the top left hand corner of the painting has a small chip, right border has two small tears about 1/10 inch each, left border has a 1/2 inch tear. However, the torn edges overlap making the tears hard to spot. Slight flaking of border. Radha's skirt has a superficial dent."

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