'Krishna Asks for Sweets' Canvas Cloth Print, c.1705

Provenance

In the lower right corner of the composition, the blue-skinned boy Krishna reaches toward his foster mother Yashoda, asking for more food. His argument, rendered in the verse at the top of the page, is that he needs extra nourishment to accomplish all the exploits depicted across the rest of the image: herding cattle, killing demons, defeating wrestlers, and finally sitting crowned king of Mathura in the upper right. The painting is at once domestic scene, cosmological argument, and illustrated poem.

The page comes from a Sursagar, the vast devotional poem composed by Surdas, the blind north Indian poet of the 15th and 16th centuries. His verses on Krishna's childhood are among the most beloved in the Hindi devotional tradition, and they were frequently illustrated by court ateliers across Rajasthan. In the lower left of this page, the blind poet sits within his hut — author and witness both.

The Mewar school of Rajasthan, one of the earliest and most prolific of the Rajput painting traditions, developed a style of illustrated manuscripts that placed multiple scenes on a single page, using architectural frames and registers to hold the narrative together. This work is a strong example of that compositional ambition.

Disclaimer:

• The frames shown are for display purposes only and are not included with the artwork.
• As these are made-to-order designer pieces, expect minor colour variations from the displayed artwork.