Yasoda with Krishna Churning Butter
Unknown Artist
c. 1890
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, graphite, and tin on paper
Dimensions
painting only: 45 × 27.8 cm · secondary support: 51.3 × 35.6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
Accession Number
2003.160
About this artwork
Yashoda, wife of the head of the cowherd village, raised Krishna from infancy. She is shown here churning milk into butter, while the mischievous toddler Krishna tips his hand in the pot to steal the rich cream. Kalighat paintings were made for pilgrims to take home and keep on domestic shrines. Made swiftly on inexpensive paper, they are a genre of art available to a wide swath of people.