Krishna Celebrates Holi

c. 1770

Krishna Celebrates Holi, c. 1770. Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Guler. Gum tempera, gold, and silver on paper; page: 21 x 29.4 cm (8 1/4 x 11 9/16 in.); image: 15.5 x 23.8 cm (6 1/8 x 9 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.104 The two groups, one led by Krishna and the other by his lover Radha, are shooting water guns and throwing gulal, a powdery color at each other, in celebration of the spring festival known as Holi. A few herdsmen (gopas) cheer for their group by banging drums and blowing trumpets (ranasanga) of the type played on the proclamation of battle in the Pahari region of the western Himalayas, where this painting was made. The painter has sprinkled color on the background to suggest colors thrown in the air.