Large colour painting on fabric. India, 1st half of last century
Unusually large and decorative wall ornament, painted with plenty of figures and in good condition. The centre focusses on a blue, richly adorned Krishna standing on a large lotus flower and wearing a crown, as well as a halo decorated with pearls. Krishna is also an incarnation of the god Vishnu and in his youth, spent time living with the shepherd girls, the Gopis. He often liked to tease them, for example stealing their clothes as they bathed, etc… He is shown here playing his flute to the autumn dances of the girls, who are rather ladylike and have rigorously arranged themselves into two groups, all attentively gazing towards Krishna. Their heads are rowed tightly next to each other – there are around 600 in total! A girl is also present in front of each leaf of the lotus flower Krishna is standing on. A white palace wall in the foreground, bodies of water with lotus flowers in front of it and a herd of cattle as well as persons (some dressed luxuriously) behind it. A dark green forest with a multitude of colourful birds in the distant background, aircraft with godly characters above, as well as Krishna and Radha below. The border is painted with white, red-spotted bulls – around 80 in total. SIZE 122 x 198 CM
From a Geman private collection