
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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International Director
The couple relaxes in each other's arms, reclining on a canopied bed placed on the palace balcony so they can enjoy the drama of the monsoon night together. Having performed her final duties, the maid retreats in a bow to leave the couple to themselves. The streaks of golden lightning set against the deep black clouds invokes the electricity between the divine and his mortal love. In the distance, gopas (herdsmen) drive their cattle to the shelter of small huts, and white egrets flee in a meandering line that follows the contours of the green hills. The nayika is reunited with her hero, and she embraces him with tender affection.
This painting reflects the ideals of 'love in union' known as samyoga. As noted by M.S. Randhawa in Kangra Paintings on Love, Bombay, 1962, p.129:
"Paintings illustrating love in the union during the rains are numerous. The onset of the monsoon with dark rolling clouds, the play of lightning, the flight of egrets and Saras cranes against slate blue clouds, and the shouting of the peacocks have a strange fascination for the India mind. The Hindu poets have sung of the joys of rains, and the Kangra artists have given expression to that joy in their paintings."
In addition to the current page, there are only three other known pages from this series. Two are in the Indian Museum, Kolkata (acc.nos.659 & 649); Goswamy The Essence of Indian Art, p.61, no.29, and another in the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, ascribed to Purkhu, see Goswamy and Fischer, Pahari Masters, 1992, p.387, no.170. Another related series dated circa 1805 bearing Purkhu's name is in the San Diego Museum of Art (Goswamy, Domains of Wonder, San Diego, 2005, p.240, no.104). Note the near identical treatment of Krishna's crown, hands, textiles, and Radha's scarf arrangement.
Provenance
Theo Brown and Paul Woner, San Francisco, 1970s-82
Private Collection, Los Angeles